A Game of Grimm Consequences
by rapthorn2ndform
Summary: A Grimm with unnatural curiosity becomes a Piece in a Game beyond mortal understanding. Armed only with its witts, wings and the mysterious ability to see and change its numerical abilities, the nevermore sets out on a journey of self-discovery. Gamer-Nevermore. Influenced by Kumo Desu Ga, Nani Ka. Special thanks to DownSmashJon for making the cover art.
1. New Game

Note: **Bold** : System information, _Italics_ : Pov character's inner thoughts.

* * *

The place has many names, the Lost Kingdom, the Wyrm Empire, the Grimlands. To an outside observer, it was like an alien world, an uninhabited land without movement or sound. They would be mostly right no plants or animals, blood red pools of ichor, impassable spires of crystal but to say it's uninhabited would be a mistake. This place has one type of inhabitant, in greater number and variety than anywhere else in the world. Grimm. This was their domain, Salem's Domain.

Humans describe them as mindless but, like many of their widely held beliefs, this is not entirely accurate. Grimm are they gather, they hunt, they fight, they kill for one purpose. Grow.

Gimm gain power from negative energy. The domain was almost drenched in negativity, primed for the creation of Grimm… but not the growth. Despite the truly massive amount of negativity, there are also countless Grimm attempting to absorb it. Most Grimm spend less than half a year in Salem's Domain before they find their way to the other lands. Which raises a singular question…

"Why are you still here?" asked a woman with bone white skin and a long black dress. She stared down from her tower at the desolation below. At the far edge of her vision were the ruins of the lost kingdom with hundreds of black birds circling overhead. Her gaze was firmly planted on one member of the identical flock.

This singular nevermore had come to her notice about a year after she had spawned it. She understood that the Grimm take their time, leaving only when the felt the pull of the outer world. This juvenile simply hopped around the ruins. Although it had certainly absorbed enough negativity to grow it… hadn't. Perhaps it was simply careful, understanding how dangerous it is in the outside world and wishing to prepare. With that thought in her head, she moved on to greater plans.

About a year later, the nevermore was still there. Five separate broods of Grimm had been birthed and left but this singular nevermore was still combing the ruins. She wondered if this Grimm had some sort defect. It was still only about the size of a normal raven, maybe it was incapable of growing. Such a pitiable existence, she considered simply killing it in order to end its continued failure. After some thought, she decided against doing so. It wasn't causing any issues, wasn't in the way, it was just there.

This was the fifth year, and the woman was livid. Unrelated events had driven her to find a momentary distraction. Every other of her children followed its goal nicely, go to the outside world, sow discord, and continue until death. But this one, simply moved from ruin to ruin and hop around on the ground. That also vexed her, it spent most of its time on the ground. A nevermore, the undisputed master of the sky, had spent five years on land. She had never considered any of her Grimm as failures, even those that left and died immediately had just fallen below her hopes. However, this nevermore had run out her patience. This would be its last day. She was about to act on her urge when she felt a strange shift.

* * *

 **.**

 **Due to accumulated negativity exceeding the maximum threshold, a random boon has been constructed**

 **Cosmic Game: You have become a piece in a game beyond your comprehension.**

 **.**

 **Due to your time observing the world around you, you have constructed a boon.**

 **Boon: Basic Sentience: You have spent your life gathering information with no comprehension. You have gained a basic understanding of yourself and the world around you.**

 **.**

 **Due to your insatiable thirst for answers, you have constructed a new boon**

 **Boon: First Step on the Never Ending Path: You have gained an innate understanding of language.**

 **.**

 **Due to your constant collection of trinkets and knick-knacks, you have constructed a new boon**

 **Boon: Magpie Nest: You have access to an extradimensional space to hold one cubic meter or smaller. The number of objects you can store is equal to your Psyche.**

 **.**

 _What? Voice talk. What mean?_

 **.**

 **As a game piece, you have the ability to actively choose how to advance by spending accrued negativity.**

 **.**

 _Not understand. Explain._

No answer. The voice remained silent much to questioners annoyance.

 _What me? Please…_

 **.**

 **Nameless, Juvenile Nevermore, Age: 5 years, Level 1**

 **.**

 **Vitality: 12 = [(lv + 2) x Endurance]**

 **?= 0 = [ 0 (lv + 2) x Psyche]**

 **Negativity: 3 / 150**

 **.**

 **Fighting: 3**

 **Agility: 10**

 **Strength: 4**

 **Endurance: 4**

 **Reason: 3**

 **Intuition: 4**

 **Psyche: 2**

 **.**

 **Boons**

 **Fatal Feathers, Negative Requiem, Cosmic Game, Basic Sentience, First Step on the Never Ending Path, Magpie Nest**

 **.**

 **Titles**

 **None**

 **.**

"I can tell you." The woman in black stands, staring at small Nevermore. "You are a Grimm, a very interesting Grimm."

 _Who?_

 **.**

 **Salem, Timeless Grimm Queen, Age ?, Level:?**

 **Title: Sole Queen of the Grim**

 **.**

"My name is Salem, Queen of Grimm. I am the one who birthed you, your mother if you will." She walked up to the small crow, locking eyes with it. "Tell me, young one, why have you stayed here so long. Haven't you felt the pull of the outside? The urge to grow?"

 _Yes. Stuff here. Want to see. Want to understand. No leave. Too big, no small spots. No grow._

"You are a strange little one. I've been watching you. Most Grimm leave my domain in their first few months, you've stayed five years. Most Grimm take half a century to gain awareness, you took half a decade." She chuckled softly, her anger had been replaced by something she hadn't felt in a long time. Curiosity. "You say you want to 'know', know what?"

 _Yes. Want to know what to know._

"You don't know… what you want to know?" Salem sat on a stone next to the bird. "How much do you know?"

 _Know know little._

"Poor sweet child. That is a very wise answer…" she placed her pale hand on the nevermore and gently rubbed its back. "... making a very unwise mistake."

The Nevermore cocked it's head to the side in confusion.

 _Not understand. Wise but not. Be one mean not other. Explain. Want wise._

"Now now. You do not gain wisdom from someone giving you the answer." She cooed as if speaking to a child. "Think back on what I said. Did I ever say that you were wise or not."

 _No… I not wise...but not not wise… sometime wise... sometime not…?_

"Yes, you understand how little you know. The world is far bigger than you can imagine." She could tell the little birdie was hanging on her every word. She had been doing this for centuries, finding what an individual wants and directing them towards her own goal as a way to fulfill it. Although she had never needed to do so for a Grimm. Even the most intelligent of her kin are very… instinctual, finding negativity and feeding. In her very long life, she had never seen a Grimm who would not only, choose not to grow but also actively avoid negativity to serve another goal. "With such a large world… why are you staying here? The outside world has so much to offer."

 _... not know outside… know here… want know outside...not want go...not understand._

"I see." This perplexed the queen. This wasn't the survival tactic that grim employ. This was something foreign to the species. "Despite how much you want to go, you're scared of the unknown. A natural reaction really, the outside isn't like my domain. Grimm far older and stronger than you die by the dozen every day. At your level, you wouldn't last a night."

 _Scared...this scared? This safe but no new… outside, not safe but all new… want go but want live… leave no live...stay no learn...worse than not live…_

"Again you show both wisdom and naivety. You are right to fear, it stems from your lack of strength. But the solution is so simple." This was her play, this Nevermore was clever, too clever to waste away in her borders. A piece this powerful shouldn't be staying in the back row. Especially when that piece would only get better over time. "You only need to gain more negativity and believe me, the outside world has more than you could ever gain here."

 _Get safe, need negativity. What negativity, where find?_

"Don't worry, little one. You will know it when you feel it." Salem smiled, she had unleashed something this world had never seen. "Now go, learn and grow. Make me proud."

 **.**

 **You have earned a new title. Choose either Salem's Eyes or Trailblazer of Knowledge.**

 **.**

… _thank you… you Salem, who...who me…_

"You child, are my new favorite. My most reliable eyes on the outside" Salem said as she rose to her feet. The Nevermore watched as she left, almost gliding towards the distant tower.

 _That not it...who me?... goodbye... mother… I not know what is...but do know that not you._

Without looking back, the young Nevermore took flight towards the coast.

 **.**

 **You have chosen the title, Trailblazer of Knowledge**

 **+5 Reason, +5 Intuition, +3 Psyche**

 **Boon: Severed Connections: You have cut all connections to your past, both seen and unseen.**

 **.**

* * *

 **A.N. Chapter posted on 10/22/17**

 **So... I love the Gamer... but a solid 70% of gamer fics are just rewriting The Gamer...If I wanted to reread the gamer... I'd just reread the gamer. That isn't true for all of the fics, just a large number of the ones I've read recently. This is a fic that's sort of been rattling around in my head for a while. It has a heavy influence from Kumo Desu Ga, Nani Ka, a gamer style story about a monster character. I don't know if anyone else is doing an intelligent Grimm story (if any of you know, link me please) but I thought that it'd be fun to combine that with the gamer... (is that the name of the whole video game stat trope or am I using it wrong?). Another influence will be... left un-named until after the Fall of Bacon... Beacon. Partly because it's irrelevant and partly because I am slightly ashamed...**

 **The system I'm using is the FASERIP system from the old TSR Marvel Super Heroes Tabletop RPG. I've seen so many people use DnD stats... as an avid DnD player... I don't like those stats... I like the idea of Reason over Intelligence... Intelligence must be gained from outside, you don't suddenly learn division because your int increased. Reason, on the other hand, could possibly change and grow without any outside intervention. That's the same reason I DESPISE charisma... YOU have a number that says how OTHERS see YOU?! Granted it can be justified as you reading the situation and choosing your words accordingly... but everyone equates it to how pretty you are, while the original DnD book went out of its way to say that ISN'T what it is.**

 **Fighting: determines hit probability in and defense against hand-to-hand attacks.**

 **Agility: determines hit probability in and defense against ranged attacks, feats of agility vs. the environment, and similar acrobatics.**

 **Strength: Determines damage inflicted by hand-to-hand attacks as well as the success of tasks such as grappling or the lifting and breaking of heavy objects.**

 **Endurance: determines resistance to physical damage (e.g., poison, disease, death) it also determined how long a character can fight and how fast a character could move at top speed by exerting themselves.**

 **Reason: determines the success of tasks relating to knowledge, puzzle-solving, and advanced technology.**

 **Intuition: determines the success of tasks relating to awareness, perception, and instinct.**

 **Psyche: determines the success of tasks relating to willpower, psionics, and magic.**

 **Last point, It is REALLY hard to write a character without a name and gender pronoun... I fix this later but for the first 3 or four chapters... The Grimm, the nevermore, it... and by the way, why isn't the possessive it...** i-t **-apostrophe-s... LIKE EVERY OTHER POSSESSIVE PRONOUN! So when reviewing, if you could be a little gentler on that particular point... I'd really appreciate it. Most chapters will be 1.5 to 2 thousand words although a few I have written have ballooned up to 3 or 4 thousand. I have 4 or 5 chapters written and 1 I just started. I hope to update one a week... but I have a bad track record... Would appreciate all comments, questions, criticism, puppies, and winning lottery tickets any reader would like to give.**

 **Also, babytalk will be going away after this chapter.**

 **UPDATE: 11/26/17: Centered Game text and edited the AN to make it BOLD.**


	2. Starting Town

**Uploaded 10/24/17**

 **A.N 1... So...I just hit 50 follows... thanks to everybody who followed and favorited... I'll upload chapter 3 on Sunday.**

* * *

 _Who am I?_

 **.**

 **Juvenile Nevermore, Age: 5 years, Level 3**

 **.**

 **Vitality: 20 = [ 1 (lv + 2) x Endurance]**

 **?= 0 = [ 0 (lv + 2) x Psyche]**

 **Negativity: 136 / 600**

 **.**

 **Fighting: 3**

 **Agility: 10**

 **Strength: 4**

 **Endurance: 4**

 **Reason: 8**

 **Intuition: 9**

 **Psyche: 5**

 **.**

 **Boons**

 **Fatal Feathers, Negative Requiem, Cosmic Game, Basic Sentience, First Step on the Never Ending Path, Magpie Nest**

 **Boon Points: 3**

 **.**

 **Titles**

 **Trailblazer of Knowledge**

 **.**

The nameless Nevermore had spent several weeks flying from Salem's Domain. Much to its surprise, the draw of negativity could be felt from all directions. After some deliberation, the avian Grimm had set off into the unknown.

After many nights of flying, it had found what it was seeking, a large source of negativity. It was a place like the ruins it had scoured, only whole. Dozens of buildings each unlike any it had seen before. The ceilings were undamaged and the walls were sturdy. But what truly caught the nameless Nevermore's eye were the strange creatures moving within the unruined ruins.

 _What are you?_

 **.**

 **Umber Braille, Human Male, Age: 31, Level 14**

 **Title: Town Guard**

 **.**

 _Human… what is a human?_

The nameless Nevermore sat nearby, simply observing the town. It was enraptured. These humans that filled the town were all the same, yet all different. Many would come together every morning to dig in the dirt and separate every night. However, often they would disagree and argue.

 _What purpose does this serve?_

During a particularly large disagreement, the humans came to blows. The nameless Nevermore's eyes widened in amazement, the amount of negativity had spiked. It wasn't long before other humans stepped in and stopped the flow of negativity. The nameless Nevermore simply sat, mulling over the new information.

 _Humans come into conflict to create negativity. Negativity makes Grimm stronger. makes humans stronger? Humans stop negativity to keep others not strong?_

 **.**

 **Due to your extensive critical thinking and theorizing, you have gained +1 Intuition.**

 **.**

 _The voice has commended me… but did not confirm or deny. Wisdom must be earned. How can I test this theory?_

The small Grimm continued to watch the people of the town, seeking to isolate the reason for conflict.

The first reason was the simplest for it to understand. The people would quarrel over resources. It appeared each one had their own amount and were very protective of what they had. Conversely, because these resources were split unevenly, those with less would desire more.

That would bring up the second reason, some humans were more powerful than others. If it wasn't for the increased negativity the nameless Nevermore may not have even realized this. Occasionally one of the humans with more resources would simply take things from those with less. At first, this seemed as if the one with more was asserting dominance, but negativity was radiating from both parties. This would require more study.

If this was all there was to conflict, the Nevermore would have been confident in understanding everything in a matter of days...but the final form of conflict confused it the most. It didn't seem to have a reason and both parties seem to regret it after.

The Grimm had observed this conflict occurring most reliably, at the end of every seven-day cycle. At sundown, many of the male humans would make their way to a single place. Several hours later they would usually erupt in negativity after simply speaking to one another. There were no clear lines that could be drawn, equals would fight, inferiors would support superiors. This place the humans called 'Bar' was a mess of contradictory information, but that to could be reconciled if these conflicts only occurred there… but they didn't. Sometimes they would spring up between humans who lived together or those they had never met. Young, old, male, female, strong, weak, feast, famine...these pointless conflicts would happen between all of them.

 _Missing something important. One key to solving the puzzle._

After spending over a month just watching from afar, the Nevermore hatched a new plan.

 _To study conflict, I must observe conflict. Perhaps by stimulating conflict, I can view more._

The small Grimm had avoided getting too close to the town after it's first day there. It was a mistake that it would not like to repeat. The town guard had attacked with some form of weapon that could throw a metal projectile at high speed. A single hit had forced a choice between retreat and destruction. The nameless Nevermore had decided to observe from a distance from that moment onwards. Things have changed though, it was confident that it could sneak in, accomplish its goal, and get out without anyone catch it on.

In the dead of the night, the juvenile took to the sky. Flying high above, it set its sights on the largest residence in the town.

 _Phase one, complete. Begin infiltration._

After landing on the roof, it began to hop around. It had hoped that there would be some small hole it could expand into an entrance. Instead, it found a solid roof covered with stone plates. All would have been for naught if it hadn't remembered seeing smoke rise from the house at one point.

 _Smoke comes from fire. When the smoke was coming from the building, no fire was visible. Conclusion, the fire was inside the house. Theory, there is an existing hole the smoke escaped from._

It didn't take long for the small Grimm to be proven correct, two sizable chimneys were located at the two ends of the building. Without wasting any time, the bird began clawing its way down.

Once inside, the Grimm took a moment to admire its surroundings. The clean smooth walls covered decorations were very different from the old utilitarian ruins it used to examine.

 _Why do Grimm not build? Shelter, defense, aesthetics… what would it be like to have a permanent residence?_

It quickly explored the large building careful to avoid the two humans still walking around at this late hour. After about twenty minutes, the goal was found. A large room with two sleeping humans within. However, these were not just any two people.

 **.**

 **Alabaster Rockwell, Male Human, Age 54, level 6**

 **Title: High Mayor of Greyfeild Village**

 **.**

 **Thyme Rockwell, Female Human, Age 26, Level 8**

 **Title: Fourth Wife of Rockwell, Held at Gunpoint**

 **.**

This man was at the top of many of the power-based conflicts, often taking shiny objects from those he beat. Oddly, he was certainly physically weaker than those he took from. The Nevermore had come to realize that, to humans at least, there was more to strength than just brute force.

Many humans craved these shiny objects and this Mayor would often give them to his female. The Grimm silent scurried in search of those shinies, but when it found them it found a problem. The intricately decorated box was filled to the brim with shiny objects. It placed its claw on one of the shinies and the object vanished.

 **.**

 **Silver necklace stored in Magpie's Nest: 1 / 5**

 **.**

 _Too much. I can only carry 4 more… I can't risk sneaking in here multiple times. I need to bring this all with me at once. Will that work?_

The nevermore closed the box and carefully flipped down the latch, locking the box. It grasped the box in its talons… the box vanished.

 **.**

 **Jewelry Box stored in Magpie's Nest: 2 / 5**

 **.**

Perfect. Now I just need a few more of this 'Jewelry' and my experiment can continue.

 **.**

 **Diamond Amulet stored in Magpie's Nest: 3 / 5**

 **Jeweled Wedding Band stored in Magpie's Nest: 4 / 5**

 **.**

As the young Grimm is about to leave, a small reflection on the window caught its eye. The one called wife was wearing a small shiny around her neck. Rather than make a safe escape, the Grimm decided to get a closer look. With a small flap, the nameless nevermore stood on the nightstand, staring at the sleeping woman. The necklace was tarnished and dented, but obviously well taken care of. Why this, of all the shiny objects, was still around her neck, perplexed the Grimm… Despite it being less shiny and artful, it could tell the necklace was important.

 _I'll take that too._

 **.**

 **Failure. An object must be unattended to be stored in Magpie's Nest**

 **.**

 _Irksome… Perhaps it would be wise to leave it and… No. I want it._

Carefully, the nevermore reached for the chain with its sharp beak. Just a hairs distance from the sleeping female's neck, the beak snapped the thin gold chain. She stirred slightly causing the nevermore to hop back. When it was sure the female was still unconscious, it reached once again for the pendant.

 **.**

 **Antique Locket stored in Magpie's Nest: 5 / 5**

 **.**

 **Your repeated acts of thievery and skullduggery has granted you a title, Just the Wind and Nothing More**

 **Agility +2**

 **Boon: Just the Wind and Nothing More: Your Agility is counted as 50% higher when attempting to hide or move silently.**

 **.**

With the first part of its plan finished, the Grimm shimmied open hallway window and escaped. Now the Nevermore sored to the opposite end of the town. With a single small shack-like domicile.

This location had been carefully picked as well. Not only was this building far easier to break into, The humans inside were also involved in many of the conflicts. They would often be kicked or beaten by those with more.

 **.**

 **Piebald Taurus, Faunus Male, age 31, level 25**

 **Title: White Fang Activist**

 **.**

The word 'Fanus' confused the young Grimm. How were they different from humans? They both walked the same, talked the same, acted the same and even looked the same. Until it could figure out the difference, it decided to refer to them as human for simplicity.

Using a small hole in a corner wall the slipped in. This residence was not nearly as interesting, no decorations. Instead, there were 4 beds with five people. Even their highest quality shinies paled in comparison to the tarnished locket the female in the last building had.

The Nevermore crept beneath the largest bed and with a thought…

 **.**

 **Jewelry Box removed from Magpie's Nest: 4 / 5**

 **.**

The box was placed, one last step. Once out of the building, it flew high up, dropping objects as it flew out of the town borders.

 **.**

 **Diamond Amulet removed from Magpie's Nest: 3 / 5**

 **Jeweled Wedding Band removed from Magpie's Nest: 2 / 5**

 **Silver necklace removed from Magpie's Nest: 1 / 5**

 **.**

 **You have planned and enacted a successful scheme, +1 Reason, +1 Intuition, +1 Psyche**

 **If your plan bears fruit, you will reap the rewards. You will passively absorb 10% of all negativity generated in Greyfeild Village.**

 **.**

 _Now all that was left was to wait for the results._

Morning came and the town was abuzz. The nevermore could feel the negativity coming out in waves.

 **.**

 **Your continued distant observation has granted you a boon**

 **Eagle Eye: Increased Sight range by 100%, by focusing on a single point you may increase Sight range by a further 1000%**

 **.**

The humans gather in droves, each side using objects to beat the others into the ground. The negativity was growing without pause. It didn't take long for the one known as Mayor and his faction to suppress the opposition. The nevermore was intrigued, this conflict was generating more negativity than it had ever felt. How was this going to end?

 **.**

 **Your negativity has reached its maximum. You have gained a level**

 **.**

The mayor gathered up dozens of the villagers and gathered them in a single building. There was a great deal of talk, at this distance the talk is inaudible. The nevermore was considering moving closer to hear… but was stunned. The building erupted into fire. Screams, pain, negativity washed over the forest. The only sound to match the cries of pain were the cheers from the blaze setters.

 **.**

 **Your negativity has reached its maximum. You have gained a level**

 **.**

 _What is this? The have...ended each other. They've never done that. They are just objects… they've even found the objects… why would they end each other? When a conflict ends, so too should the negativity… why is it not fading… why is it increasing?_

A piercing howl shook the air. Within seconds, the nameless nevermore had taken to the sky scanning the forest floor to find the source. Hundreds of large wolf-like Grimm had gathered mere miles from the city and were on the move. It didn't take long to spot more, Ursa, creeps, even other nevermore were drawn in by the negativity.

 **.**

 **Your negativity has reached its maximum. You have gained a level**

 **.**

Again the negativity spiked as the surrounding Grimm tore through the village wall. The armed populace attempted to push the tide of monsters back but they were overrun within minutes.

 **.**

 **Your negativity has reached its maximum. You have gained a level**

 **.**

The fire had spread to other buildings basking the beowolves in an eerie light as the slaughtered. A giant nevermore rained razor-sharp feathers into groups as the creeps ambushed those that would escape.

 **.**

 **Your negativity has reached its maximum. You have gained a level**

 **.**

As if to deny its part in the destruction, the nameless nevermore simply observed. Every other Grimm would be drawn… no, forced to go the village, but instead, it just sat.

 _These people have met their end, this town no more but the knowledge shall not vanish. I shall carry it with me until my end. I… must..._

 **.**

 **Your struggle to remember all those you've seen has granted you a new title. Haunted**

 **+2 Psyche**

 **Boon: Haunted: You remember the name and face of every human and Faunus you see killed.**

 **Your negativity has reached its maximum. You have gained a level**

 **.**

From its perch, it watched the town burn. When all was said and done, it had committed 8,692 faces to memory. Only one young one escaped the village.

 **.**

 **Adam Taurus, Faunus Male, Age 8, level 2**

 **Title: Vengeful Orphan**

 **.**

 _A conclusion has been reached. Humans generate negativity against their own will and seek to avoid doing so. They receive no benefit from its generation. Grimm are drawn to negativity, so it is in the human's best interest to avoid negativity and seek to help others avoid doing so. Negativity stems from… desire?_

The nevermore had watched as humans trampled each other to escape, attempt to take resources from the burning houses of others, and simply crumble in the street to wait for the end. All these made sense… a desire for life, a desire for resources, and a lick of desire. But for every human who acted on negativity, there was one that didn't. The Faunus man that broke out of the building showed the smaller faunus an escape route and blocked the way with his own body to make sure the Grimm did not follow. The nevermore had witnessed humans put others before themselves. Was this desire as well?

 _Humans also have...something. This something is the opposite of negativity, causing them to act for others rather than himself. While negativity pushes them apart, the something pulls them together. Where the negativity is an emptiness that pulls from others to fill itself, the something is a fullness that spreads to others freely._

 **.**

 **You have gained a grasp of basic emotions causing a boon to evolve.**

 **+2 Reason, +1 Intuition**

 **Boon: Second Step on the Never Ending Path: Your delve into the human mind has allowed you to grasp emotions. You will now be able to feel positive emotions in addition to negative emotions.**

 **.**

The moment the nevermore reads that message it felt a weight in its stomach. Not a physical one, one in its mind. A weight that made it wish to be dragged down into the mindless darkness of all other Girmm. A weight called guilt.

* * *

 **A.N. 2.**

 **You have no idea how paranoid I was when I uploaded this. The amount of positivity in the reviews stunned me (I had REALLY low expectations) and I hope that people continue to enjoy.**

 **Fun Fact... The town I was ORIGINALLY planning on destroying... was Kuroyuri... yeah... If I did that, I don't know how I could ever get people to like the Grimm again... yeah... So instead I decided to screw over a character I HATE. I hate him even more now that *VAGUE SPOILER FOR S5E2* he killed an interesting character design after our first time seeing them... and I really liked that characters look and now we probably won't see them again. This may or may not play into future events.**

 **Next time: Dialogue...**

 **Edited: 11/26/17: Fixed the AN and edited the Game Stuff... AND fixed a typo or 2.**


	3. NPCs and Admins

_A/N 1: Uploaded 10/29/17_

* * *

 _Who am I_

 **Nameless, Juvenile Nevermore, Age: 5 years, Level 9**

 **Vitality: 44 = [ 1 (lv + 2) x Endurance]**

 **?= 0 = [ 0 (lv + 2) x Psyche]**

 **Negativity: 6485 / 6750**

 **Fighting: 3**

 **Agility: 12**

 **Strength: 4**

 **Endurance: 4**

 **Reason: 10**

 **Intuition: 11**

 **Psyche: 7**

 **Boons**

 **Fatal Feathers, Negative Requiem, Cosmic Game, Basic Sentience, Second Step on the Never Ending Path, Magpie Nest, Just the Wind and Nothing More, Eagle Eye, Haunted, Identify**

 **Boon Points: 9**

 **Titles**

 **Trailblazer of Knowledge, Just the Wind and Nothing More, Haunted**

It had been nearly a year from when The young Nevermore had left the simplicity of the Grimm Lands. It had never cared for the passing of time before, but now… whenever it would stop to think, the faces of the town filled its mind. Because of this, the Grimm filled its days using a newly gained boon

 **Identify: Allows you to view the Vitality, ?, and FASERIP of others.**

It was truly interesting to see where it stood in relation to others. It had found that 8 was the average for most humans… and faunus.

 _They are different… I will remember that… even though I do not understand how._

There were several outliers. Most of them had the word 'huntsmen' somewhere in their title. These 'huntsman' had Intuition, Reason, and Psyche at the high end of average, but physical stats usually in the high thirties to low forties. This was a staggering huntsman could lay waste to packs of Grimm without breaking a sweat.

The Nevermore had followed theses huntsmen on numerous occasions. At first, it thought it was remaining far out of sight but every now and then the huntsmen would stare directly at it. One night it decided to get closer to the group.

 **Slate Finly, Human Male, Age 22, Level 26**

 **Title: Haven Graduate**

"Come on, man. That thing is creeping me out. It almost feels... "

 **Ceil Dame, Female Human, Age 21, Level 28**

 **Title: Haven Graduate**

"Awe, what's the matter? Is widdle slatey afwaid of da baby birdy? Does he want Ciel to make it go bye bye?"

 **Slate...**

"Can it, Ciel! There's something up with that thing. It's like it's got a reason for watching us. Like it's planning something."

 **Ciel…**

"Okay, I knew you were a coward, but I didn't think you were stupid too. It's a Grimm. They don't work together, they don't plan. They're monsters.

 **Birch Alen, Male Human, Age 22, Level 31**

 **Title: Haven Salutatorian**

"Besides, we shouldn't kill it. That's a juvenile nevermore."

 **Ciel…**

"Okay, I'm all for ignoring it, but what does it being small have to do with anything?"

 **Birch…**

"Juvenile Grimm have unique features they lose as they grow. It helps them survive until they grow strong enough to fight. Ursa have a venom, taijitu can regrow half of their bodies, and Nevermore release concentrated negativity when they die. If we kill it we'll have an army of Grimm on us in no time."

 **Slate…**

"So it's a choice between an army of Grimm and… it just staring at us. As creepy as the bird is, I'll take it."

 **Birch…**

"Don't worry, it's mostly harmless. Hopefully, it'll get bored and leave soon."

 **Ciel…**

"Hopefully, that thing doesn't catch a stray bullet during our little bandit hunt."

 _Bandits, humans fighting other humans. I am in no hurry to see that again._

The Nevermore took off, searching for something unknown. It would turn away town it spotted, flee from any human it saw, abandoned any negativity it sensed, just trying to stave off its inner pain. Despite its best efforts though, curiosity would win out. Travelers would be mauled by Grimm, settlements burnt, people would die whether or not it bore witness.

 _How do humans do it? They feel this weight, this pain… how can they stand and fight when they know that they will meet their ends. If not by their own hands, then by the Grimm. If not the Grimm, then sickness or by simply running out of time._

The Grimm puzzled, it loved thinking about problems and finding solutions. It had come to realize that after manifesting emotions. It, however, noticed that it had always felt that way, the boon just allowed it to realize it. This was not a fun puzzle though. It was a question that may have no answer or maybe many. How could it come to a conclusion alone?

 _Alone… I am alone. Humans are not alone. Even the most isolated humans have had some contact at one time or another. Is this something that cannot be learned alone?_

 **No man is an island, you're will bridge the gap between yourself and others has earned you a new title, Loneliness Broken**

 **+1 Intuition, +1 Psyche**

 **Boon: Loneliness Broken: You have the ability to speak with any creature that has achieved sentience.**

 _Speaking with humans… I didn't know how alone I was until I learned I was alone. I wish to not be alone… but I have the body of their enemy…_

It determined its best bet was to attempt to find and approach the huntsmen from before. At least it wouldn't be attacked on sight. It took some time, but the Grimm was able to find them...or what was left.

 **Corpse**

 **Corpse**

 **Corpse**

 **Raven Brawnwen, Female Human, Age 28, Level 65**

 **Head of the Brawnwen Bandit Tribe**

 **Vitality: 4900**

 **?= 737**

 **Fighting: 57**

 **Agility: 34**

 **Strength: 49**

 **Endurance: 45**

 **Reason: 16**

 **Intuition: 19**

 **Psyche: 11**

Terror filled the young Grimm as it looked upon the female next to the dead humans. This wasn't the soft fear it felt back in Salem's Domain. This was true fear. The female made eye contact without hesitation, her eyes matching the blood on the ground.

After what felt like an eternity, the human turned away. With a swing of her blade, a swirl of inky blackness appeared. The female stepped in as the dark began to shrink.

"Why." The nameless Nevermore croaked as it watched the human vanish. The last it saw was the human turning back in shock as the portal disappeared.

* * *

It was quite some time before the Grimm was able to approach a human. Many would attack on sight, many more turned and ran. After months of trying, it had nearly given up on trying until it felt something very strange.

It was like negativity but calmer, more peaceful. If it felt tug ed towards negativity, this was more of a sharp yank. It wasn't far until it found the source, a small cave emitting light from the entrance.

Immediately upon landing, it gently hopped towards the entrance. As it peered around the corner a bang echoed through the cavern. The Grimm didn't even have time to flinch as a bullet whizzed past its beak.

"Dam…" the human spoke with a weary voice. She was clutching at her side and her breathing was ragged. "I hoped the poison would kill me before the Grimm."

She spoke as if she was ending but it wasn't like those before. There was no fear, no anger, and only an indescribable calm.

 **Summer Rose, Female Human, Age 27, Level 78**

 **Silver-Eyed Warrior**

 **Vitality: 43 / 2760**

 **?= 0 / 3755**

 **Fighting: 33 (3)**

 **Agility: 62 (5)**

 **Strength: 35(5)**

 **Endurance: 29 (3)**

 **Reason: 17 (11)**

 **Intuition: 12 (6)**

 **Psyche: 32**

"Are you not afraid to die?" the Nevermore asked barely peeking around the entrance out of fear of being shot at again.

The female's eyes widened in surprise. She let out a sigh as she lowered her gun. "A talking Grimm, poison must be getting to my head."

"Death is the end." the nevermore spoke somberly. It entered the light of her fire, approaching slowly so not to alarm her. "Are you not scared of the end? Are you not angry at the one who ended you? Do you not regret?"

"Yes…" She adjusted herself to better face her 'hallucination', wincing as she did so. "I'm pretty sure I am."

The pitch black bird tilted its head. "But I can't feel it. I can't feel your negativity… only calm."

"Maybe because I know my death saved my daughters. " She couldn't help but smile. "I gave them my everything... like any mother should."

"Mother… a mother sacrifices for her daughter?" The Grimm t thought back to Salem, even not knowing what one was, it knew she was no mother. "Why?"

"Because I love them more than anything. Even though I wish I could see them again..." It was getting painful to talk, why did her near-death delusion need to be so chatty. "Knowing that they're safe at home on Patch… my only real regret is that I only have one life to give for them."

The young Grimm felt sadness, but couldn't understand why. It had just met this human, why was it so sad to see it go? It wasn't like the town, it had been directly responsible for those deaths. It wasn't like those Huntsmen on the road, it had felt pity but not sadness. It didn't want her to go, but...

 **Summer Rose, Female Human, Age 27, Level 78**

 **Title: Silver-Eyed Warrior**

 **Vitality: 6 / 2760**

 **?= 0 / 3755**

 **Fighting: 33 (0)**

 **Agility: 62 (0)**

 **Strength: 35(1)**

 **Endurance: 29 (1)**

 **Reason: 17 (3)**

 **Intuition: 12 (5)**

 **Psyche: 32**

...it was not meant to be. All it could do was comfort her in her final moments. "Were you a good mother, Summer Rose?"

"You're my subconscious…" she could feel the last of her strength leave her body. "...you tell me…"

 **Corpse**

She was gone and a Grimm was weeping at her passing. Never in the immeasurable history of Remnant has there been such a scene.

 **Your negativity has reached its maximum. You have gained a level**

 **Your empathy and pain has caused a boon to evolve.**

 **Third Step on the Never Ending Path: You knowledge and emotional connections have been forged into a simulacrum of a soul. All factors pertaining to your ? are halved. You have a minimum ? Total of 1.**

 **Upon reaching Level 10, you are no longer capable of maintaining your Juvenile Nevermore form. Your body will evolve based on your play style.**

The bird's body began to shudder and stretch as a white-hot pain washed over its entire form. The agony was so excruciating it caused the Grimm's consciousness to fade.

The Grimm awoke sometime later. It couldn't tell how long but the fire had gone out and the sun had risen. It attempted to stand only to find that its balance was thrown off. Its feet wouldn't cooperate as it attempted to roll and work them beneath its body. After a great deal of the Grimm managed to get off the ground.

It noticed immediately that its eyes were much further from the ground. It was probably standing at triple its usual height. Its wings also didn't fold neatly to its side. Instead, they hung down from its shoulder, most of the way to the ground before shooting up past its head. But the most jarring was the lack of feathers over its body. They had been replaced by soft pale flesh similar to a human.

 _What am I?_

 **Nameless, Lenore, Age: 6 years, Level 10**

 **Vitality: 48 = [ 1 (lv + 2) x Endurance]**

 **?= 1 = ½ [ 0 (lv + 2) x Psyche]**

 **Negativity: N/A / 8250**

 **Fighting: 2**

 **Agility: 16**

 **Strength: 3**

 **Endurance: 4**

 **Reason: 10**

 **Intuition: 12**

 **Psyche: 12**

 **Boons**

 **Fatal Feathers, Negative Requiem (Locked), Beowulf in Sheep's Clothing, Of Two Forms, Cosmic Game, Basic Sentience, Third Step on the Never Ending Path, Magpie Nest, Just the Wind and Nothing More, Eagle Eye, Haunted, Identify, Loneliness Broken**

 **Boon Points: 10**

 **Titles**

 **Trailblazer of Knowledge, Just the Wind and Nothing More, Haunted, Loneliness Broken, Unique Species**

The Grimm struggled over to the late Summer Rose. After gathering up the loose item, the creature placed a claw on the corpse.

 _Family… Reuniting you would be the least I can do._

 **Corpse stored in Magpie Nest: 2/12**

It gasped a metallic rectangle in its claws...

 **Scroll stored in Magpie Nest: 3/12**

...then the firearm...

 **STRQ Contrast stored in Magpie Nest: 4/12**

...a shortsword...

 **Kindly Scatter Act 1 stored in Magpie Nest: 5/12**

...and finally a dagger.

 **Kindly Scatter Act 2 stored in Magpie Nest: 6/12**

 _You can figure out the weapons names, but not Summer's…_

The former Nevermore grimaced. It was surprised by its range of facial movement. It couldn't do nearly that much when its face had a beak and bone mask. It slowly brought its claws up to touch its face.

 _Soft_.

Spurred by curiosity at its new appearance, it rushed clumsy out of the cave.

With one flap of its huge wings, the Grimm was above the tree line. For some reason, flying came much easier than walking, for some reason using its legs as a counterweight came extremely naturally.

* * *

It reached its destination far quicker than it had expected. Apparently, those numbers mean something after all. Before now, it had only really gained marginal boosts to mental abilities, making it extremely hard to gauge how much of an effect the increases had. This time though, its agility had nearly doubled causing a sharp uptick in speed and maneuverability.

It landed next to a small lake and stared at the surface. The face looking back was nearly indistinguishable from a human with features matching the younger of the species. It had hair that matched the jet black of its feathers that curled up at the shoulder with two streaks of white framing the pale skin of its face. Its monochrome palette was broken by the two splashes of sanguine red in its eyes.

It had suspected the more human appearance from the moment it saw its own feet. It had lost its talons in favor of flat feet lined directly up with its back. In place of the usual human arms, it had kept its pair of clawed wings.

It's fortunate, I would be truly crippled without my wings...

It had found that it was becoming easier to walk as it practiced and took some time reading over its new boons and titles. Simply thinking the name would repeat the description, a normally useless fact… unless it's status somehow changed while it was unconscious...

 **Title: Unique Species: A title given to those that are truly one of a kind. This is granted to the first of a species as well as the last. FASERIP adjusted accordingly.**

 **Boon: Of Two Forms: You are capable of transforming your body into that of a Juvenile Nevermore. This transformation may be undone at any time but lasts for a maximum of a number of hours equal to half your Psyche. After returning to your original form you may not use this ability again for 12 hours.**

 **Boon: Beowulf in Sheep's Clothing: It is extremely difficult to identify you as a creature of Grimm. Your skin has color, you lack external bone, and you no longer exude a cloud of darkness. You can also now successfully perform all processes required by biological life including but not limited to, eating, sleeping, circulating bodily fluids, etc.**

 **Boon: Fatal Feathers: You are able to hurl razor sharp feathers with a flap of your wings. You may fire a number of feathers equal to half your level at a time. Damage dealt is based on your Agility. You may fire a number of feathers equal to your Endurance x 3 per 12-hour cycle. If you lose your wings, this boon will be Locked.**

 **Boon: Negative Requiem: You are currently unable to absorb negativity. This boon in Locked**

 _I suppose that means I can't gain "level" anymore… not that I even know what that means._

 **Your level is a measure of a being's capability. It provides an unseen bonus to all aspects of the world. You also gain one Boon Point per level. These may be used to construct new boons based on your actions. Due to the effects of Cosmic Game, you are allowed to consult the administration a number of times equal to your level.**

The Grimm fell to the ground in shock. It had heard the voice in its head dozens of times but it had determined the voice was an automatic response. It had never responded when questioned… it had… once… it had answered a single question back at level one… it had spoken of a game. If it was correct it had 8 more questions. It had to be careful.

 _Why have you never answered my thoughts before?_

 **The administration will only answer questions in regards to the system and not the setting. Metagaming is heavily discouraged.**

There it was again, Game. While it didn't understand the second statement entirely… the first was more clear. Questions about the world, people, places, things, ideas...were all off limits. That left things outside of the world. Things related to the voice… the administration… by extension…

 _...the administration is not of this world?_

 **Correct. The administration is separate from the world and can only act through game pieces.**

The Grimm's eyes widened slightly. It hadn't meant to ask that. Its speculation had used a question, luckily the answer had been somewhat useful but it was still annoyed that one of its questions had been used. It had to ask the important questions now… or risk wasting them.

 _You keep mentioning "Game", what is this._

 **The game is beyond your comprehension.**

That had been useless. It remembered the boon that mentioned the "Game" said that as well. It had to somehow rephrase to gain information on the game but it didn't want to risk losing its 5 remaining questions if could never gain them again. Perhaps asking how to gain more questions...

 _I am currently unable to able to absorb negativity to gain 'level'. How can I change that?_

 **You...not... error… the validity of question is under debate… please wait for a response.**

 _That was unexpected. Did the voice break?_

 **Validity determined. The question shall be answered but setting details shall be redacted. The question will be used… please wait for the system to reboot.**

That was a relief, the Grimm had been worried that it had lost the question without gaining an answer… it still had to hope the information would be useful.

 **Beings with a soul have a maximum level of 10 unless they have both their ? and ?. Beings with souls that meet those requirements have a maximum level of 99, some exceptions may apply.**

That makes sense. It had just gained a boon that said it had gained a fake soul… now it just needed to figure out what those blanks were. It assumed that one may be the ? on its FASERIP. Luckily it seemed it could be a little freer with its remaining 4 questions knowing that more could come later.

 _What is the purpose of a game piece?_

 **A Game piece's purpose is to move. How, when, and why are up to the piece themselves.**

Again, unhelpful. The only excess information that could be gleaned here was that the administration had no direct control over the game pieces. Their purpose was to create their own purpose. 3 left. I should probably save some for later.

 _Why am I a game piece?_

 **Fate, destiny, random chance, serendipity, misfortune. The selection of pieces holds no greater meaning.**

... another miss...or not... It had noticed a key word choice... pieces...

 _Are there any other Game Pieces?_

 **Yes**

Hmm… the temptation to ask something else is strong after an answer like that… but no thanks. That's enough talk for today.

 **Your interaction with powers beyond your comprehension has opened your eyes.**

 **+1 Reason, +1 Psyche.**

 _Thank you very much, Administration._

No response. Expected but disappointing. No time to linger though, Patch awaits.

* * *

A.N.2. So...Chapter 3... and it's not a nevermore anymore... now I lose all the momentum I gained. Exposition Dump followed by Exposition Dump and finally EXPOSITION DUMP...

I'm actually rather worried that the sudden change in the mc will turn off some of the people reading..but... I hope that reviews will continue to be mostly positive. I really needed to get the point where my character could actually interact with others... The story has the friendship tag...

I've been working hard on writing, I'm probably about halfway done with chapter 7 now.

Now I want to rant about fanfictionDOTnet... WHY CANT I USE THE GREATER THAN AND LESS THAN SIGNS! WHY CAN'T I HAVE MULTIPLE QUESTION MARKS IN A ROW!

grrr... the ? in the status screen is SUPPOSED to be 4 question marks... grr.

The next chapter... oh boy... it was only supposed to be a 300-word interaction and move on to other things... but it turned into about 2500 words... I really hope people like the direction the story winds up going.

If I hit 100 follows, I'll upload another chapter Wednesday.

Edit: I can't believe I forgot to mention the wings replacing arms...


	4. Fast Travel

A/N 1: Uploaded 11/01/17

 _Who am I?_

 **Nameless, Lenore, Age: 6 years, Level 10**

 **Vitality: 48 = [ 1 (lv + 2) x Endurance]**

 **?= 1 = ½ [ 0 (lv + 2) x Psyche] Minimum 1.**

 **Negativity: N/A / 8250**

 **Fighting: 2**

 **Agility: 16**

 **Strength: 3**

 **Endurance: 4**

 **Reason: 11**

 **Intuition: 12**

 **Psyche: 13**

 **Boons**

 **Fatal Feathers, Negative Requiem (Locked), Beowulf in Sheep's Clothing, Of Two Forms, Cosmic Game, Basic Sentience, Third Step on the Never Ending Path, Magpie Nest, Just the Wind and Nothing More, Eagle Eye, Haunted, Identify, Loneliness Broken**

 **Boon Points: 10**

 **Titles**

 **Trailblazer of Knowledge, Just the Wind and Nothing More, Haunted, Loneliness Broken, Unique Species**

Finding Patch had been much harder than the Lenore had expected. What it thought would be a few days of travel had turned into several months of searching. Whenever it would meet people on the road or go into town, they would start yelling. Some would throw things, some would try to smother it, others would stare… it was rather annoying.

It was some time before the Grimm realized the problem. It appeared to be a young faunus walking around without clothes. Unfortunately, even after fashioning a covering out of a discarded blanket, the humans still would rarely be helpful. Despite repeatedly asking for a map, humans tended to either ignore it or simply drop a colored card and walk away. Those were prefered to the humans that would provide a sharp kick before laughing as they left. It didn't like them.

Faunus it approached were, somehow simultaneously, both more and less helpful. Sometimes it would get lucky with the person pointing them in the right direction. A lot would offer food or more of those cards, but would also try and get it to go with them. Something about how 'a child shouldn't be alone' and 'the White Fang can make sure you always have a roof over your head. These were the most annoying because they seemed to honestly want to help… but just weren't...

 _Why would I want something over my head… I wouldn't be able to fly…_

Town hopping became the most reliable way to gain information without needing to deal with the same people trying to 'help'. At one of these towns, the humans were particularly antagonistic.

After landing, people tended to stay far away from the young Grimm. It would tend to arrive at stores right after they'd close. The bad luck continued as young humans began pelting it with rocks. The rocks were small and throws, weak, so it decided not to seek conflict and continued walking. The humans followed for quite some time, until…

"Hey! Get out of here!" A female was shouting. She had short black hair and was dressed rather cleanly. Judging by her attitude she was most likely a faunus. The Grimm was always impressed that others were able to identify faunus on sight while it needed to use Identify. After the woman chased the children off, she turned to face the Lenore. She started speaking in a much softer voice "Are you alright, sweetie?"

 _Oh no, this one is going to be difficult… the ones that say 'sweetie', 'dear', or 'darling' are always difficult._

"I am unharmed." It responded curtly.

"Well, that's good. You're very brave for not fighting back." The woman kneeled down to meet the young Grimm's eye. "Your family must be very proud, can I help you find them."

 _Difficult, she didn't even start by asking about a family…_

"I don't have a family. I don't want a roof. I don't want food. I don't want cards…" it bluntly lists everything people try to offer it. It understands that those people are trying to help, but it doesn't understand why they are so bad at it. "I just want to get to Patch. Do you know where that is?"

There was a brief silence before the woman pulled a rectangular object from her pocket. "I don't, but I can find out."

She started fiddling with the rectangle. to the Grimms surprise, it continually changed the images on it. It couldn't help but gasp in wonder. "What is that."

"It's called a scroll, I can use it to access information, talk to people far away, take pictures, and a lot more." She spoke as the Grimm had its eyes locked on the device. "Oh dear… are you sure it's Patch you're looking for?"

"Yes." It nodded. "I need to get there as fast as I can."

"Well… we're here, in southern Mistral on the continent of Anima…" she points to a spot on the map. She then moves her hand to a small island near the coast of a separate landmass "...and Patch is all the way over here, near Vale…"

"Thank you for your assistance." the young Grimm spreads its wings to their full 15-foot span and gives them a strong flap. Right before it could get airborne, it felt a tug pulling it back down.

"Oh no, you don't!" The woman placed both hands on the young Grimm's shoulders. "Where do you think you're going."

"Patch…?" The Grimm was confused "did you forget?"

"No, I… Sweetie, Patch is hundreds of miles away. Even if you didn't stop to sleep, it would take you months to get there. That's not even including if you got lost over the ocean. Even though it's water, you can't drink it. And if you're attacked by a Grimm…" the woman wrapped her arms around the Grimm. "I want to just take you home, make sure you stay safe and sound...but you have your heart set on Patch, don't you?"

"I don't know what that means…" it thought back to the look on Summer's face. It felt it needed to do this. "But I have to go to Patch."

"I understand." She dusted herself off and held out her hand. "I think I can help you get there faster."

The Grimm hesitated. It started at its two sharp claws, at the woman's soft hands. The woman must have noticed, she reached out and took its wing and began leading the way.

"You're sure you need to leave right away?" She asked as they walked. "If you stay with us, I could probably convince my husband to take you to Vale in a few months. I bet you and my daughter would be great friends."

She gave a toothy grin, but the young Grimm was instead watching its feet… after a short silence, it finally replied: "I think you're a good mom…"

"I try to be." she laughed but it didn't feel genuine. She took out a small medal carved with a flower with a pair of cat eyes. She reached down and wrapped the chain around the young Grimm's neck. "If you're ever in Menagerie, show this to just about anybody and say you're looking for Kali."

"Thank you." The young Grimm played with the shiny object around its neck. People value the shiny objects, however, this woman freely gave it away. She is kind. "I wish I had a name to give you. I'm just a nameless Lenore."

"I wouldn't say that." Kali gently patted the Grimm's head "Lenore is a wonderful name."

It was about to open its mouth to correct her but was cut off.

 **You have been given the name Lenore, However, the one who gave you the name has no authority to do so. Would you like to register your name as 'Lenore': YES / NO**

A name… I have a name…

"Yes...it is." the young Grimm was overwhelmed. It could barely stand. It had a name. It couldn't understand why it had tears running down its face. It couldn't understand why Kali was wrapping her arms around it. But it knew it liked it.

They walked a little further before coming to a large open area with several large metal objects. The pair walked up to a young man loading several crates into one of the metal objects.

"Tuck!" Kali shouted waving her hand. The young man stopped and approached the two. "Lenore, this is Tukson. He's going to be taking you to Vale."

"I am?"

"He is… if he doesn't want me to tell Ghira about his side ventures…" Kali's voice hardened as she spoke until Tukson gave a small nod. "Is there anything else you need? Food? Money?"

"No thank you." Lenore shook its head. "You've helped me more than I can ever say."

"Why don't you go check out the Bullhead while we hammer out the details." Tukson points over at the metal box, and Lenore obliges. "So, what's with the kid?"

"Too common of a story, with extremely rare determination," Kali responded, paying more attention to Lenore examining the ship than Tukson. "The only thing she has is a destination. No home, no money, no family…"

"No ID, which is why you came my way." Tukson sighed "but Ghire could have taken care of that. Why not go through the regular channels?"

"That was my plan… but the moment I pointed out where Patch was…" Kali frowned "She is set on going straight there… she was going to get herself killed flying there. I doubt she would have been willing to wait."

"Yeah, I can see the…" Tukson started but his eyes widened "Fly! She can actually FLY!"

"Yeah, I was shocked too but she didn't seem to think anything of it." Kali's eyes had never left the child. "She's been isolated a long time, I doubt she knows how odd it is. Try not to make a big deal out of it."

"Any clue what's waiting on Patch?" Tukson asked, causing a palpable silence.

"No, maybe nothing… but I can tell she'll keep going, no matter what." Kali's face fell. "The only thing I can do is make sure she has somewhere to fall back to."

"Meaning…?" Tukson grabbed his head "You want me to keep an eye on her."

"No, even if I wanted that… you probably couldn't keep up." Kali laughed at the thought of Tukson chasing the flying Faunus. "Just let her know how to contact you, and arrange a ship to Menagerie if she needs it."

"Alright, Kali...But you owe me. Alright, kid!" Tukson called over to the young child from its investigation. "Take off will be in a few minutes, say your goodbyes and I'll get you situated in the smuggler's hatch."

"Alright, I suppose this is it. Be a good girl for Tukson." Kali wrapped her arms around Lenore once again, however, this time Lenore did the same. "If you ever need to, you can go to Tukson for help."

"I don't understand…" Lenore muttered, it...she knew she wanted to say something but nothing would come out. She could only stand there as Kali gently patted her head.

"Don't worry, Lenore. Goodbyes aren't forever." Kali cooed, "Someday... you should visit. Tell me all about your trip."

 **Your acceptance of a name and gender has provided you with a greater understanding of yourself, causing a Boon to evolve.**

 **Fourth Step on the Never Ending Path: You are fundamentally changed from your Grimm origins. You are an individual, not subject to positive or negative effects that target Grimm.**

"Goodbye, Kali," Lenore mumbled as they separated. She couldn't bring herself to look up as Kali left.

Tukson returned and lead Lenore to the back of the Bullhead. He reached over and pulled away a metal panel revealing a hidden room with a pair of seats. "You'll need to stay back here during the trip. We should be to Vale in 10 to 12 hours… Hey, you okay kid?"

"I understand why you are helping me… blackmail…" Tukson shuddered slightly at Lenore's blunt statement. "But… Kali… She has no reason…"

"Listen, I wouldn't think too hard about it…" Tukson smiled "Helping others is the right thing to do, but some go farther than others. Kali's like that, she saw a little girl in trouble and decided nothing would stop her making sure that child had a chance."

"How…" Lenore struggled to get her thoughts in order. "What should I do?"

"Honestly… just accept the help for now. Kali would be happy just knowing you got where you're going." Tukson sighed as she rubbed the back of his head "I'm gonna close this up. See ya when we get there."

Tukson shuts the hatch, leaving Lenore alone with her thoughts. Compared to the amount of time searching, she'd be in Patch in no time. Half a day of peace and quiet to contemplate… The box began to rumble and shake. She wasn't moving, but she was. The noise echoed through the tiny compartment, her abdomen was doing flips… She had heard of this before in passing…

 **Your weakness to vehicles has earned you a new title, Motion Sickness Master**

 _This must be hell…_

A.N.: So chapter four. This one took me quite a while. I had mentioned earlier, this was supposed to be a sort interaction... probably about as long as the raven scene but... that didn't happen. I've been a big fan of the Belladonna's from the moment we saw them in the S4 intro (although my friends and I couldn't agree if Kali was Blake's mom or sister... I was on the wrong side, I blame rooster teeth) and I wish that Blake had brought the rest of team RWBY and Ren and Nora cause she would 'Mom" them... Tukson was never supposed to be in the chapter at all but i figured… what the hey.

So the Nameless is no longer nameless… Lenore is both her name and the name of the species of grimm. Lenore was pulled from the Edgar Allan Poe-m the Raven as most of you probably know. The grimm was always meant to be a girl from the start, but that name… I went through about a dozen Lucifer, Hugin, Hue, Lucy, Maggie… uhg… but now YAY no more ITS!

Apparently… i missed something important last chapter. It's been fixed but it's only two lines of text so going back just for that...pointless. Lenore's wings attach at her shoulder, replacing normal human arms. She still has the two sharp claws like a nevermore. Her **Beowulf in Sheep's Clothing** boon only makes her hard to identify as a grimm… not impossible… possibly the cameo in the next chapter can see through…

I also received questions about the **Of Two Forms** boon… that i probably should have cut... But i really wanted to have that for a few jokes later on so... oh well, too late now

Next update will be 11/05


	5. Combat Patch

A/N 1: Uploaded 11/05/17

Chapter 5

 _Who...am…*blerg*... I?_

 _Who am I?_

 **Lenore, Female Lenore, Age: 6 years, Level 10**

 **Vitality: 48 = [ 1 (lv + 2) x Endurance]**

 **?= 1 = ½ [ 0 (lv + 2) x Psyche] Minimum 1.**

 **Negativity: N/A / 8250**

 **Fighting: 2**

 **Agility: 16**

 **Strength: 3**

 **Endurance: 4**

 **Reason: 11**

 **Intuition: 12**

 **Psyche: 13**

 **Boons**

 **Fatal Feathers, Negative Requiem (Locked), Beowulf in Sheep's Clothing, Of Two Forms, Cosmic Game, Basic Sentience, Third Step on the Never Ending Path, Magpie Nest, Just the Wind and Nothing More, Eagle Eye, Haunted, Identify, Loneliness Broken**

 **Boon Points: 10**

 **Titles**

 **Trailblazer of Knowledge, Just the Wind and Nothing More, Haunted, Loneliness Broken, Unique Species, Motion Sickness Master**

"I-i can't be-hehehhe-leive…" Tukson was practically doubled over with laughter. He had uncovered the hatch, finding Lenore on the floor dizzy and disoriented. Her pale skin looking more green than before. He couldn't help it, he laughed so hard he cried. "A bird faunus who gets sick from flying…"

"That wasn't flying…." Lenore cut him off struggling to her feet, still out of sorts from the long trip. "Torture...that was torture…"

"Alright, alright." he said wiping his tears away "Let me unpack some of this and we can get you something to settle your…" Tukson had only turned his back for a moment, but Lenore had vanished. He frantically looked around, only glancing up by chance. His jaw almost unhinged when he saw the black wings already soaring higher than the tallest buildings. "Kali's not gonna be happy…"

The air whipped past her face as she flew higher and higher. She climbed higher than the tallest buildings. She wanted out. The buildings were too big, people too loud but most of all… she wanted to be far away from that devil machine. She didn't care what Tukson or anyone else said… that was NOT flying. This was flying. There were many things she didn't know, but flying was one thing she knew… probably better than anyone else in the world.

Her eyes scanned the city below, frantically trying to absorb everything. The city was bigger than any town she'd ever seen, each and every building must be at least 10 floors. People were everywhere, far too many to even consider counting. This was Vale.

She felt an odd tapping sensation on her chest whenever she moved. She looked down to identify the source bit as she did so she felt something sliding up her neck. She quickly raised her head right before Kali's necklace was lost to the sky. She decided Magpie's Nest was the best place to keep it.

 **Gold Ally Kattz Necklace stored in** **Magpie Nest** **: 7/13**

She thought back to the map Kali had shown her… Patch was a small island off the coast. She just needed to find it. She decided upon a perch to scour her surroundings, an extremely tall building that towered above the city. It reminded her of the massive tower in Salem's domain.

She touched down gently, careful not to make a sound as she landed on the balcony railing. The world always looked so small from up high. Down below, people were scurrying like ants, she was sure each had their own reasons or goals but from so far away… it all seemed so… unimportant.

Her eyes shifted to the horizon, the sun had just begun to dip. She had never understood why humans talked about it so much. Even though it happened every day, humans would talk about it, paint it, write about it, even carve it into cave walls. Even now, the sunset over the ocean with the city barely lit down below. Objectively, it was aesthetically pleasing but nothing more… "I don't understand?"

"Perhaps I can help." a voice from behind Lenore spoke up. It was so sudden, she had nearly lost her balance on the guardrail. The speaker was a grey-haired man dressed in a black and green suite. "I am sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."

 **Ozpin, Male ? ?, Age ?, Level ?**

 **Title: Man Behind the Curtain**

 **Identify Blocked: Error Code: 86**

 _Worrying… this man is dangerous… maintain minimum interaction..._

Lenore barely spared the man a glance, continuing to look out over the water. The sooner she found her destination the better. This man… he reminded her of the metal box… uncomfortable.

"Silent treatment, hmm?" the man sipped his coffee but his eyes never wavered. "While I am always one for quiet self-reflection, I must ask. What brings a young faunus like yourself to the top of Beacon tower?"

"Foolish question." She spat at the question. The reason to ask questions is to gain the answers you can't figure out on your own. This meant one of two things… Either he was a fool or he believed that she was a fool. She was sure it wasn't the former… he was doing what she did to the administration… asking a question to gain multiple answers. She refused to give him that option. "My wings."

"My dear…" He chuckled as she stretched out her wings to emphasize her words. He felt it was wrong to laugh at a child's misunderstanding, but the innocence of the answer had caught him off guard. "There are many ways to ask a question. What I meant was… Why are you up here? I can tell you're looking for something. Maybe if you tell me, I can help you find what you are looking for."

"Help me…?" First Kali, now this Ozpin… She didn't understand why, but she didn't like this man… He made her want to flee… Kali felt warm… this man though… it felt like she was talking to Salem again. "Why would you help me?"

"I have many reasons. One would be the fact that I am a teacher. It is my job to help young people find their way…" he walked up to lean on the railing next to Lenore. "Another would be curiosity. Most visitors arrive via elevator. These, however, both pale in comparison to my true reason…"

Lenore turned to face the man, his expression gave nothing away. It was as if time had stopped. Slowly he lifted his hand and pointed inward. Upon a desk sat a stack of papers as tall as Lenore with several others strewn across the room. She tilted her head to the side, unsure of what he was showing her.

"I've been trying to find a suitable distraction from my paperwork for hours. I never expected one to perched above my chamber door." He took a long sip from his mug, watching Lenore's face for a reaction that would never come. "Only this, and nothing more."

Lenore sat in silence for a while longer with the mysterious Ozpin standing next to her. As much as she attempted to keep her focus on the horizon, her mind couldn't escape the overwhelming presence.

"Would you like to come inside? It's getting rather chilly." Ozpin turned and opened the door behind him. "You're too young for coffee, but I should have some hot chocolate around here somewhere…"

"Patch…" a mutter escaped her lips without her even thinking.

"What was that?" Ozpin could barely make out what she said.

"I'm trying to find Patch." She spoke up, there was no use hiding it now that it had been said.

"Is that all?" He returned to the rail and pointed at a small blue light, barely noticeable against the sunset. "That is the Flame of Signal. It's the symbol of the combat school of the same name located on Patch. Does that…?"

"Thank you." Lenore dove from the tower mid-sentence. Ozpin attempted to reach out on reflex but she just barely slipped through his fingers. She plummeted quickly towards the courtyard, keeping her wings folded closely to her side. At the last moment, she spread her wings causing her to swing back up into the sky. The people below gasped as they watched her sailed out over the water.

"What an interesting little girl." He sipped his coffee as he watched the young girl fly out towards the isolated island. He continued until she vanished from sight. "Guess I can't put off my paperwork anymore…"

Finally, Patch…

It hadn't taken long, probably only about an hour to arrive from the tower, but the true journey had begun months before. She reminisced as she barely brushed the treetops with her bare toes. The final step would be to find Summer's family, but that would need to wait for morning. As much as she hated the thought of taking more time to complete this self-imposed mission, at least this last step should be easy.

She circled over the forest, looking for a convenient branch to rest for the night. She didn't sleep often but it was a useful way to pass long periods of time. She spotted a ramshackle building deep in the forest. Falling apart and most likely abandoned, it would make the perfect shelter… if not for the Beowulves within.

 **Beowulf, Age 2, Level 14**

 **Title: None**

 **Vitality: 75 / 176**

 **?= 0**

 **Fighting: 10**

 **Agility: 14**

 **Strength: 9**

 **Endurance: 11**

 **Reason: 1**

 **Intuition: 4**

 **Psyche: 3**

Other Grimm don't tend to bother her unless she gets close to them, and would usually ignore her after she backed away. They probably wouldn't attack if she were to rest on the roof...but they would almost certainly be loud. Too much of a bother. She was about to turn away when she felt a tingle down her back… Negativity.

She glanced back at the hovel, noticing a yellow-haired human pulling a red cart towards the ramshackle residence. The yellow-haired human looked small, no larger than herself. From what she had gleaned, small humans were accompanied by older humans until they grew strong enough to protect themselves. Why was this one so far from its protectors?

 **Yang Xiao-long, Female Human, Age 6, Level 1**

 **Title: Little Sun Dragon**

 **Vitality: 8 / 9**

 **?= 0 / 1**

 **Fighting: 3**

 **Agility: 2**

 **Strength: 2**

 **Endurance: 3 (1)**

 **Reason: 3**

 **Intuition: 2**

 **Psyche: 1**

 _A girl… same age as me… to end so early is sad._

Lenore circled above, she felt the urge to help… but it would accomplish nothing. She could probably end one before it reached the young human… but she could count at least 4 Beowulves within. All she would accomplish by interceding would be possibly adding herself as a target.

She watched as the blonde girl drew closer. It was only a matter of time. A hoarse growl emanated from the building. The girl froze as the Grimm emerged from hiding. The girl stood silent, not even having the energy to scream. As the beasts made their approach, the child threw herself over her carriage. Lenore noticed a small amount of movement from beneath the girl.

 **Ruby Xiao-long, Female Human, Age 4, Level 1**

 **Title: Red Whirlwind**

 **Vitality: 6 / 6**

 **?= 1**

 **Fighting: 0**

 **Agility: 5**

 **Strength: 1**

 **Endurance: 2**

 **Reason: 1**

 **Intuition: 2**

 **Psyche: 1**

The child was attempting to cover the smaller one. Such a futile act… It would not save either of them.

 _Why… Why do something so… Why do it… Why?_

"She saw a little girl in trouble..." Tukson's voice rang in her head. "...nothing would stop her making sure that child had a chance."

Before she knew it, her body was moving. A flick of her wing sent five feathers flying towards the lead Beowulf. The others hesitated when the largest of their number dropped. Using the momentary break, Lenore crashed feet first into another.

 **Corpse, dissolving**

 **Beowulf, Age 2, Level 14**

 **Title: None**

 **Vitality: 81 / 128**

 **Your stand against your own kind has earned you a new title: Grimm Slayer**

 **\+ 1 Fighting, + 1 Psyche**

 **Boon: Grimm Slayer: Your attacks deal 10% more damage to Grimm. Grimm understand that you are their enemy.**

Her victory didn't last long. Before she could push away, she felt the burning sensation of claws cutting into her wings. She had been hurt before, but nothing like this. She screamed out in agony.

 **Vitality: 21 / 48**

 **?: 0 / 1**

She attempted to stand back up, but the weight of her extend wing kept her low. It wasn't closing… she was stuck on the ground.

 _Why did I do something so useless? Now instead of two victims, there will be three._

She swung her good wing, sending more bladed projectiles at the Grimm, only for the enemy to jump out of the way. The Grimm slowly approached their helpless prey.

 _Why don't I regret…_

She gave her wing one large flap, feathers flying again. The beowolves dodged but striking them wasn't her goal. The force pushed her back far enough to land over the two children.

 _That's all I can manage…_

She felt sharp fangs dig into her shoulder. She heard the sound of air being cut. Then… black

"Tai, listen to yourself…" a gruff voice spoke, "It's crazy talk."

"Crazy talk! Is it, Qrow!?" A much more impassioned voice was shouting "Is it?! I mean… look at her."

Lenore's eyes were heavy, as much as she wanted to open them… they felt so heavy. She wanted to move but her entire body ached. Sleep was nice. When she was sleeping she didn't hurt.

"Okay, I admit there's a bit of a resemblance…" the gravelly voice spoke once more. "The black hair, pale skin…"

"Don't forget the WINGS!" The loud man was yelling again. "Jet black bird WINGS!"

"For the hundredth time! She's about Yang's age!" The rough voice was shouting now. "So unless she pushed out a second one when neither of us was looking… And what do wings have to do with anything?"

"Loud." Lenore's soft voice silenced the two arguing adults.

"Okay…" the gruff voice spoke. "Similar attitude too…"

"Enough Qrow." The loud man snapped, acting as if he had no part in waking the girl. "Are you alright. You took a nasty hit there?"

She finally opened her eyes, she was lying down in some building with two grown humans standing over her. Neither looks very tidy, both scruffy and their hair out of place… but for some reason, it looked more right on the dark haired one than the blonde.

"Red eyes…" the blonde gasped and nearly fell to the ground.

"Tai, that doesn't…" the dark haired one started, but cut himself off at the middle "okay...is it too late to get on board with your crackpot insanity?"

Lenore felt extremely odd, she was dizzy, cold, and… retrained. Her makeshift blanket shirt had been swapped for a far cleaner clothing, ripped at the sides to accommodate her wings. She also had her shoulder and left wing wrapped in white cloth… panic began to spread throughout her.

"M-m...m…" she rolled herself to the ground, wincing in pain. the pain from her damaged wing was paralyzing.

"It's okay, you're safe." the blond man moved towards the injured girl only to have her flinch away. "Don't worry, nobody here is gonna hurt you."

"M-my wing… What did you do to my wing!" Lenore shouted. She attempted to rip the cloth away with her opposite claw, only to find herself restrained by the dark-haired man. For a moment she struggled against his unmoving grip until she began to sob. "Why did you bind my wing?"

"Shh, Shh." The blonde gently patted her head, trying to sooth the panicking child. "Your wing was hurt pretty badly… I had to set and bandage it to make sure it'll heal properly. You've got to keep it from moving too much until then."

"O-oh… I'm…" she was still sniffling, but was otherwise calming down. She looked at her wing once more. She felt helpless… like those… "Girls... are they alright?"

"Yeah, a little shaken up but alive…" the dark haired man answered "... thanks to you."

"I am glad that they are unharmed…" Lenore felt warm upon learning their fate. She didn't know how else to describe it. "...I apologize for shaking them… I must have landed harder than I had intended."

"You have nothing to apologize for. If you weren't there, my daughters would have…" the blonde man paused as tears ran down his face. "You saved my daughters lives. I don't think I can ever thank you enough."

"You got a name, kid?" The dark-haired man asked earning a nod from the injured girl...and nothing else… "Do you want to tell us?" Another nod… and silence… "Well… why aren't you?"

"Oh…" it seemed to click in her head. She understood that they wanted to know her name. She liked having a name. "I didn't understand your questions… my name is Lenore."

"Well Lenore, I'm Qrow." He patted the other man on the on the shoulder. "And this sorry sack of… this is Tai."

"Let's get you back up on the bed." Tai gently lifted her and wrapped her in a heavy blanket. His soft voice and tender movements reminded her of Kali… she liked it. "I'll bring you some dinner, you need rest…"

Lenore wasn't sure when she fell asleep or for how long she was out. Only that she was awoken by a soft whining from the other room. After a few minutes of attempting to ignore it, her curiosity won out.

She stumbled to her feet, the cast throwing off her balance. Tai had mentioned that her wings would heal… how long would that take? She peered into the connecting door, seeing a small red form softly crying on the bed.

"Uh…" Lenore's voice caused the young girl to jump, letting out the tiniest squeak.

"You're the angel" The little red girl's eyes went wide. She stood from her bed and faster than a blink, was next to Lenore. "I'm Ruby, thank you for saving us!"

"I was told you were unhurt…" Lenore looked at the smaller child, but the child was crying. Crying happened from pain or emotions too strong for one to endure. "Why are you crying?"

"I… I had…" Ruby looked down at her feet. "I had a bad dream… I can't fall back asleep without…"

The girl started crying again. Lenore used the back of her finger to wipe away the tears. "It's okay, tell me."

"Y-yang usually reads me a bedtime story when…" Ruby was barely getting the words out. "...but she's so tired, and daddy and uncle Qrow… I can't…"

"I've never heard of a bedtime story…" Lenore led Ruby back to her bed and sat next to her. "...but if it is reading aloud, I can do that if you like."

"You CAN!" Ruby had a grin that stretched across her whole face. She rushed from her bed, grabbed a book and returned. "This one?"

"Okay." Lenore took the book and frowned. She attempted to bring her other pair of fingers over and open the book, only to find her movement limited by the splint. She strained against the bandages in vain, in the hopes of easing the little girl back to sleep. "I'm sorry, Ruby. I cannot open the book…"

"That's okay." Without missing a beat Ruby took the book and plopped herself into the bird's lap. "You can read and I can turn the pages. You don't have to do this by yourself."

"Ruby…" Lenore felt warm again. "Can I tell you my name?"

Ruby looked up with a grin. "Of course, silly goose."

"It's nice to meet you, Ruby, my name is Lenore." She wrapped her good wing around the little girl. "I don't think I am a goose."

"You're really warm, Lenore." Ruby opened the book. "It's really nice."

"It is." Lenore sighed before she began reading "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort…"

Little Yang woke up early the next morning, wracked with guilt. She had nearly gotten herself and her sister killed, let another kid get hurt trying to save them and broke her father's heart even more than it already was… none of that was the worst. The worst thing she had done...was unforgivable. She had fallen asleep without telling her younger sister a bedtime story.

Yang had done so every night for nearly a year. It was all she could do to console her little sister. She held onto the role of 'big sister' with an iron grip, knowing the moment it slipped… she'd probably be just as hurt as the rest of her family.

"Hey Rubes, I'm sorry about…" she opened the door to her sister's room, hoping to find the little red bundle peacefully asleep. And that is exactly what she found… but she was wrapped in an unfamiliar blanket. It was a beautiful blanket, it's black feather pattern giving it a soft inviting look. The blonde crept closer to the comfy cuddler. Ruby looked so peaceful, better than she had in months. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind me crawling in."

As she lifted the blanket, it rolled to the side revealing another girl... wearing her clothes… cuddling HER sister. She looked down to see a book, discarded on the floor… She had READ to HER SISTER! The young blonde stormed out of the room.

A/N 2: OKAY! SERIOUSLY! It's been like... a week and I've gained another 100 follows. First, thank you for the support. Secondly... I will be uploading chapter 6 next Sunday rather than Wednesday. I'm having a bit of a struggle writing chapter 7 while chapter 8 is mostly finished. I hadn't expected this to gain the popularity that it did, so I've been a little overzealous on uploads...

To everyone complaining about Lenore being a girl... Oh well...

I wish people would stop reviewing as guests (not true, any support is great) because a lot of guests, I'd love to directly respond to... but can't.

Now... The Hobbit... Ya see... Ruby brought up that Yang read stories about heroes saving the day as a kid. None of the stories in-universe we know about seemed like standard hero stories... I was stumped... So I fell back on my old favorite.

One last thing... I'm trying something new with the formatting. Game stuff is being centered. Tell me if you like it better this way or the previous way. I think I like it better but am kind of up in the air about it.


	6. Quest Complete

_AN:_ Updated 11/12

* * *

 _I feel...different…_

 _Who am I?_

 **Lenore, Female Lenore, Age: 7 years, Level 10**

 **Vitality: 6 / 48 = [ 1 (lv + 2) x Endurance]**

 **Aura= 27 / 45 = ½ [ 1 (lv + 2) x Psyche]**

 **Negativity: N/A / 8250**

 **Fighting: 3**

 **Agility: 16**

 **Strength: 3**

 **Endurance: 4**

 **Reason: 11**

 **Intuition: 12**

 **Psyche: 15**

 **Boons**

 **Fatal Feathers, Negative Requiem (Locked), Beowulf in Sheep's Clothing, Of Two Forms, Cosmic Game, Basic Sentience, Third Step on the Never Ending Path, Magpie Nest, Just the Wind and Nothing More, Eagle Eye, Haunted, Identify, Loneliness Broken, Shield of the Soul, Soul Made Flesh, Soul Nourished Body**

 **Boon Points: 10**

 **Titles**

 **Trailblazer of Knowledge, Just the Wind and Nothing More, Haunted, Loneliness Broken, Unique Species, Motion Sickness Master, Bound Soul**

Lenore awakes early to the sound of shouting… For some odd reason, Ruby shot straight up at the sound and bolted from the room.

 _Break… Fast...Some kind of emergency?_

She quickly followed, but the girl had made it down the stairs. Lenore ran, but Ruby was still nowhere. Panic began to flow as she searched the lower level… until she found Ruby, as well as Tai and Yang, all sitting around a table.

"There you are," Tai said motioning to an empty chair. "Did you get lost?"

"YAY! LENORE'S HERE!" Ruby stood on her chair, waving her arms frantically. "DAD BREAKFAST! DAD MADE DAD BREAKFAST!"

"Sit down." Yang roughly pulled the smaller girl onto the seat.

The table was piled high with numerous different foods. Pancakes, eggs, toast, bacon, sausage, all loaded onto plates.

"If there's anything else you might like, just ask," Tai said, he was wearing a pink apron with frills and Gold dragon logo. It read 'Chef Sun Dragon', it seemed to suit him. When he noticed Lenore's hesitation he got up and walked over. "What's the matter? There's no reason to be shy."

"I…" Lenore paused, she couldn't tell them that she'd never eaten… that's not normal for humans… or faunus… do they think she's a faunus… everyone else has, so she just accepted it… back to food… thoughts raced through her head, she couldn't keep things in order. She could feel tears running down her face until something small pushed them away. Ruby had come over during her emotional breakdown. "..."

"It's okay." Tai rubbed Lenore's head. "If you'd rather go back to bed, I can bring your food up… but you need to promise you're going to eat."

"N-no… I'll stay… but..." Lenore never looked up from the ground. "I've never eaten... "

"I figure you probably don't eat with family too often." Tai reached down and took Lenore's claw and lead her to the empty seat. "Don't worry about table manner. All of ours are pretty bad anyway. I blame Qrow."

"Why's she wearing my clothes…" Yang muttered as she crossed her arms and stared at Lenore.

* * *

Breakfast wrapped up once the massive pile of food had been half finished and Tai moved the dishes to the sink. "I'll need your help with dishes later but for now, could you two play outside? When Uncle Qrow gets here, we need to talk a bit more with Lenore."

"Awe… Lenore can't play?" Ruby widened her eyes and stick out her bottom lip. "Can she pah-WEEEEEZE!"

"Why would we want her too…" Yang grabbed her sister's hood a pulled her towards the door, ignoring the younger girls protests.

"I'm sorry about Yang…" Tai sighed "She's not normally like that…"

"Sorry about what?" Lenore was unsure what he meant, people apologize when they harm one another and are attempting to ease tension, but Yang had not harmed her.

"You...are serious?" Tai watched the girl's face. "What she said was rather rude, especially to someone who saved her life."

"Hmm…" Lenore thought for a moment, rude… She had heard of the concept but it seemed to change meanings depending on who was involved. She hadn't given up on understanding it, but she had put it on hold until she learned more about humans and faunus. "I don't truly understand what that means."

Tai didn't know how to respond, it's like she couldn't understand the emotions directed at her. Yang had said some several thinly veiled insults during the meal. He had thought that she was ignoring them but this kid honestly didn't understand.

"Yo, Tai!" A shout rang from the front door interrupting his thought process.

"In the kitchen!" Tai called back, not sure taking his eyes off the girl. "You sober?"

"Enough. Good to see you up and about, kiddo." Qrow sauntered into the room and dropped into a chair. "You took some pretty good hits last night… we weren't sure you were gonna make it."

"In order to save you, I had to awaken your Aura." Tai pulled patted Lenore's head "have you ever heard of Aura?"

Lenore momentarily retreated into her own mind to analyze her new title and boon.

 **Title: Bound Soul: Your soul's bindings have been loosened but not fully released. You can develop a ?.**

 **Boon: Shield of the Soul: Your Aura spreads around your body like a shield. Your Aura must be depleted before your Vitality is reduced from physical and elemental damage.**

 **Boon: Soul Made Flesh: Your Aura spreads through your body allowing for enhanced physical capabilities. Your Agility, Strength, and Endurance increase 50% easier.**

 **Boon: Soul Nourished Body: You soul feeds your body as much as your body feeds your soul. As long as your Aura is at 100%, you recover additional Vitality equal to 10% of your Max Aura per day.**

 _That… is a great deal of information…_

She sat in thought as Qrow and Tai looked at each other… waiting for her to respond. After some time, she nodded.

"Well… your Aura is the manifestation of your soul around your body. It has tons of uses. Enhanced strength, shielding your body… but the one we need to worry about is healing…" Qrow broke the silence "you have a decent amount of Aura for your age but… it should have restored itself overnight..."

"What Qrow is trying to say… you should be healed up in about a week… but until then… you need to keep the bandages on or else your wing may not heal right." Tai cut him off with a small glare. "You're more than welcome to stay here as long as you want."

"Thank you, Tai," Lenore spoke quietly, needing to have her wing bound meant no flying. No flying means she'd be easy prey for animals and Grimm… it was too dangerous to continue before then… but I've been carrying Summer so long.

"Whats wrong?" Tai had noticed her inner turmoil somehow. "If you need anything, Qrow and I are glad to help."

"Hmm…" Lenore thought. Tai reminded her a lot of Kali… and he was a resident of Patch. Perhaps he knows who she was looking for. "I am looking for the family of Summer Rose, do you know where to find them?"

Qrow and Tai remained silent. Trying to grasp what the young girl had said… the room was still. Finally, Tai broke the silence… "How do… did you know Summer?"

"She was… ending when I found her." Lenore couldn't understand the cold feeling spreading through her. It was unpleasant. Why couldn't she say the words? "I spoke to her until she… Afterwards, I wanted to return what I could to her family she spoke so highly of…"

At that Tai collapsed in tears. Qrow wanted to get up and help his friend but the news had rooted him in the chair. He was the first to recover, something wasn't adding up. "Listen, kid, Summer disappeared almost a year ago… in Mistral. How'd you get from Mistral all the way here?"

"I flew." Her matter-of-fact answer stunned Qrow. "It took months to find out where Patch even was, but a nice lady helped me and got a man let me ride in his… machine… to Vale and then the unsettling man pointed out Patch. I was about to start searching when saw Beowulves attack, Yang and Ruby… I don't know how I ended up in this house though."

"Hmm, that is some story. I'm the one that found you, by the way, got to ya just before the Grimm." Qrow scratched his beard. "When I found you, the only thing you had was your…'shirt'. Did you store the rest somewhere for safekeeping?"

"Yes, I stored them in Magpie's Nest," Lenore answered as Qrow nodded.

"Okay, if you can tell me where that is, I'll go get the stuff." Qrow caught something off with her word choice.

"No need to leave." Lenore tilted her head in confusion. Why would he need to go anywhere? "I can just take everything out."

She turned good claws to face up…

 **Scroll removed from Magpie Nest: 6/15**

The scroll appeared in her good hand.

 **STRQ Contrast stored in Magpie Nest: 6/15**

 **Kindly Scatter Act 1 stored in Magpie Nest: 5/15**

 **Kindly Scatter Act 2 stored in Magpie Nest: 4/15**

One by one, she placed the objects on the table, not noticing the extreme reaction from the two men. Tai reached out only for Lenore to stretch her wing out to block him. "NO! I HAVE TO GIVE THOSE TO SUMMER'S FAMILY!"

She felt hot, not like the nice warm from Kali, Ruby or…Tai. This was a burning, Tai was so kind… Why would he try to take Summer's things? She didn't understand…

"Kid…" Qrow started, but Tai raised his hand.

Tai wrapped his arms around Lenore. The hot feeling was replaced by the nice warm one… but she was so very confused. He had tried to take Summer's things, a negative thing… but now an embrace… a sign of affection…?

"Thank you so much, Lenore." Tai was still in tears. He just kept repeating himself.

Now He was thanking her? Nothing was coming together.

"Tai… I think she's confused." Qrow chuckled softly. "I don't think she put 2 and 2 together yet."

"I can do that…it's four." Lenore scoffed, additive math was easy. She had the numbers on her status screen and worked out a basic understanding of most basic mathematics. "I just don't understand Tai… he's nice, then he tried to steal… then he… shows kindness again…"

"Lenore, Summer was my wife… we're her family." Tai still had tears going down his face. "Thank you so much for bringing this back…"

He stood up and took the two blades from the table. With a single motion, he touched the tips together and swung them, causing the smaller blade to slide into the larger.

"We're not done talking, but if we keep ya too long a certain little red girl will set bust down the door." Qrow patted Tai on the shoulder. "Why don't you head outside and play with the girls. Tai's gonna need a minute to get back to his old self."

"Alright…" Lenore started towards the door only to stop short. "But…"

"What." Qrow sighed. "You got another bomb to drop on us?"

"No, I have no explosive…" Lenore wondered what made Qrow think she had any. "But I still have Summer's body stored, I didn't think it would be right to show those outside of her family. Would you like me to leave it here or keep it stored a little longer."

* * *

"How is that possible…" Tai sat in a chair in the corner of the master bedroom. The body of his late-wife was on the bed they once shared. Qrow took a quick swig from a flask he took from his pocket. "Qrow! You promised…"

"Hell, after today… I wouldn't be surprised if you picked up the stuff again…" Qrow was silenced by a glare from Tai… "Okay… Back on topic. I'm no expert… but there are ZERO signs of rigor mortis, no decay and hell… she's still warm."

"This… it's just too much…" Tai held his head, of all the ways today could have gone… "Do you have ANY decent explanation?"

"Yeah… but it's not possible." Qrow sipped again. "Unless Lenore committed murder on her walk from bed to breakfast… her storage must stop time… this would be SO MUCH easier if it was answer number 1…"

"Not funny, Qrow." The only thing stopping him from shouting was the sound of his daughters outside. He didn't want them to hear. "But… stopping time… that's one hell of a Semblance."

"Tai... Let's step back from hatchling for a bit… What are we going to do here…" A palpable silence filled the room.

* * *

Lenore felt odd. She was warm… but also cold. The time around them had made her feel warm so often, that now she noticed the cold… thinking back… she felt so much cold… was this how things should be?

After she had reunited Summer and Tai… she was supposed to go 'play' with Yang and Ruby… but how does one… play? Instead, she decided to sit silently in the kitchen. She knew this feeling, it was the first emotion she knew the name of… fear. Her list of fears had grown, she feared Salem, Raven Brawnwen, Ozpin, her own end… and playing with a 4-year-old. Hopefully, she could just avoid it until Tai and Qrow finished upstairs.

"Whatcha doin" Lenore nearly leaped from the chair. Ruby had somehow snuck into the room and under the table without her notice. "Are you done with the boring grown-up talking?"

Lenore stared down at the two silver eyes. She wanted to run, fly away as fast as she could. Instead… she nodded.

"Great!" Ruby grabbed her good hand and pulled her outside. "Me and Yang are playing hide n seek…"

"I… I've never…" Lenore couldn't look up at the energetic girl. She didn't understand why, but she didn't want to see that energy fade. "I... don't know how to play… I am sorry…"

"That's okay." Ruby giggled. "Yang's hiding, and we gotta find her. She's really good! I tried looking everywhere, TWICE!"

"She's under the pile of firewood." Lenore pointed over near the shed. Sure enough, the blonde emerged.

"No fair." Yang stomped over. "She must've been looking."

"C'mon Yang!" Ruby puffed out her cheeks. "Don't be a sore loser."

"No, Yang is right," Lenore responded. Yang stuck out her tongue. "But I believe I was supposed to look for you… I didn't mean to ruin your game."

"Are you making fun of me," Yang muttered, her eyes narrowed. "Let's go again."

"Ooh! I'm hiding too!" Ruby stood up on her toes and raised her hand over their heads. She turned to Lenore, much to Yang's annoyance. "Okay, what you gotta do is close your eyes and count to...uh… a million… then you open your eyes and come find us."

"And when you can't, just yell 'Yang Xiao-long is the best'... And then you need to kiss my feet." Yang said, putting her hands on her hips and pushed out her chest. She waited for a reaction from Lenore… but didn't get one. "And ya have ta count out loud so we know you aren't cheating!"

"Alright" Lenore covered her eyes with her elbow, completely blocking her vision. "One, Two, Three…"

With that, the sisters went to find hiding places and wait... and wait...and….

"WHAT IS TAKING SO LONG!" Yang shouted from her hiding place. "It's been at least two hours!" (It had actually only been 25 minutes) "Why hasn't she given up!"

Yang stormed out from the back of her dad's truck to where they had left Lenore… only to see her still counting.

"1446, 1447, 1448…" Lenore stood completely still, counting.

"WHY AREN'T YOU LOOKING YET!" Yang stormed over and pulled down Lenore's wing.

"I was told to count to one million." Lenore was puzzled, why did yang end the game. "I believe that I can begin searching in three months."

Yang just stared, this girl had taken her sister's silly number so seriously… Lenore probably would have stood out here all night… she would have been impressed if she wasn't so annoyed. "Okay, new game. First one to find Ruby wins."

"Asleep inside the third bush from the left." Lenore pointed immediately. Before she could do anything she felt herself falling to the ground. Yang had shoved her to the ground.

"WHAT'S YOUR DEAL! YOU READ TO RUBY! YOU SLEPT WITH HER! AND NOW YOU'RE TRYING TO PLAY BETTER THAN ME!" Yang was standing over the prone girl, trying to hold back her tears "Well let me tell you, me and Ruby are family, you're never gonna take her from me."

"I know." Lenore didn't know what yang meant. Even if she did intend to take Ruby, she couldn't carry the girl while flying.

"I'M SERIOUS! Ruby's not leaving me!" Yang couldn't hold back anymore, the tears she tried to stop spilled out. "Ruby can't leave me too…"

Lenore didn't understand what had happened but now Yang was on the ground next to her. She did the only thing she could think to do. It had stopped crying before so it stood to reason that it could work here too. She pulled yang close to her and enveloped her with her feathers. They just sat for a while, before Yang was able to speak again.

"This isn't how I wanted this to go…" Yang was still sniffling but the tears had slowed "I was gonna show you and Rubes how great I was… then Ruby wouldn't leave and you'd be my friend too… and I'd thank you for saving Ruby… and… why does everybody leave me?"

"I don't know, I've never lost anyone…" Lenore felt cold again, but Yang was warm. She wanted to feel warm again. "I never had anyone to lose… I don't have a dad or a sister… I just have me. I am sorry I cannot answer Yang."

"Maybe… neither of us are in a good spot." Yang gripped Lenore tight.

"No, you are in incorrect." She shook her head "we are both here, and here is a very good spot."

"Hehe, yeah." Yang wiped the last of her tears away. "Ya know, you're really warm. It's nice."

"It is." Lenore was warm again. The two remained in a content silence until it was broken by an outside voice.

"I WIN! Ruby Xiao-long is the CHAMPION!" She stood bolt up with leaves and sticks in her hair and hood. She gasped when she saw the two on the ground. "No fair! I want a Lenore hug too!"

"Then get over here." Yang's mouth curved up. "There's room for two, right?"

"In...deed." Ruby hadn't waited for an answer, bolting over and grabbing the two older girls around the waist. She stretched her wings to encompass both girls. "I like this warm."

* * *

By the time Tai and Qrow left the room the sun had started to dip. It had been an emotional day for both of them.

"Geez, it's a lot later than I thought." Tai scratched the back of his neck. He felt guilty for abandoning the girls. "I'm gonna order pizza, you wanna stick around for the night? Lenore's using the guest room but you usually crash on the couch anyway."

"No thanks…" Qrow faced away from his friend. "I need to report this to Oz… somehow."

"What do you mean… we already told him about Summer's body…" Tai didn't like the thought of sending his wife's body away… but there were almost no external injuries. He hoped that Ozpin could find a cause of death. "What's so important that you need to go now?"

"Lenore…" Qrow didn't need to see his friend's face to know it wasn't happy. He took a deep breath before he continued. "Tai, what was the first thing we did after I got the kid bandaged up."

"We decided to unlock her Aura." Tai had his arms crossed. He knew Qrow was part of Ozpin's secret cabal… that Summer used to be as well… but he was not going to let an innocent kid get dragged into that mess. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Lenore said she met Summer just before her death and stored her in Magpie's Nest not long after…" Qrow closed his eyes, Tai would probably pinch him… but he felt he would deserve it. "How can she have a Semblance last year, if her Aura was unlocked yesterday?"

"Well… what else could it be, Magic?" Tai questioned, Qrow didn't respond "Magic… Really… you can't seriously believe that."

"Look, all I know is there's more going on with her than we know." Qrow sighed "now I just need to think up a good lie…"

"You're going to lie to Ozpin…" Tai was shocked "I don't know what to say…"

"Nothing until we can figure more out. I'm pretty sure I already know what's going through your head…" Qrow finally looked back at his best friend. "So that practically makes her family."

"Okay, I was thinking about offering Lenore a home, but with Yang acting so…" he thought back on his daughter's uncharacteristically cruel behavior. "... I'm starting to think that may not be the best idea."

"We both saw the… clothes she had. The poor kids must've been wearing that bedsheet for months. She needs a home…" Qrow patted Tai's shoulder before turning to the door. "I'll be back in a week. We need to figure more out about the kid then… and I wouldn't worry too much about firecracker, she'll burn herself out fast."

"I'm not so sure about that… Stay safe, Qrow." Tai waved as the dark haired man left. With a small sigh, he went to the backyard, it had been oddly quiet the for the last few hours. What he saw brought a smile to his face as he took out his scroll. He took a picture of the three children, wrapped together in a tangled mess on the ground, each with a content smile. He just watched the peaceful nappers for a few minutes before saying. "YEAH, MAKE THAT TWO LARGE PIZZAS WITH EXTRA ANCHOVIES AND BRUSSEL SPROUTS!"

"NOOOO!" Yang and Ruby sat bolt upright, shouting in abject terror. Lenore stirred as well but with a much more subdued reaction.

"HERESY!" Yang shouts

"HAVE YOU NO HEART!?" Ruby follows suite

"What is pizza?" Lenore asks, to the horror of the other two girls.

"You've never had pizza," Ruby asked, eyes filled with tears.

"No…" Lenore shook her head and was about to continue when she found her head crushed against Yang's rib cage.

"Oh, sweet Lenore…" Yang said stroking Lenore's black hair. "Big sister Yang's gonna make it all better."

* * *

"Dad, can I ask you a question?" Yang tugged her father's shorts as he worked on the morning's dishes. Ruby had pulled Lenore upstairs after dinner. She wanted to get his attention while they were alone.

"sure, kiddo." Tai turned to his daughter. He reached down and lifted her onto the counter. "What's on your mind."

"Can somebody feel something, but not know it." Yang Had been struggling with how to ask that question all through dinner. "I mean… there your feelings, but...grrr, this is hard."

"Absolutely." Her father responded with a comforting smile. "Think about today, how did you feel when you met Lenore at breakfast?"

"I... I was angry." Yang pouted at the memory. If she saw somebody else acting how she did… she would have called them a butt and punched them.

"Now I don't know the whole story, I don't think you were mad… you were feeling something else that you thought was mad." He gently patted Yang's head, soothing the girl who was on the verge of tears again. "Now now, no need for that, after what I saw outside… Lenore already forgave you."

"She didn't!" Yang shouted and hugged her dad "She didn't even know I was being mean, and that just made me more mad… until I blew up. She wanted to make me feel better. Dad… I don't think she has any family…"

"I think your right." Tai sighed. "I think she lost them when she was so young, she doesn't remember. Once she's better, I'm going to start looking for a family that can take her in…"

"I'm gonna be her big sister!" Yang stood up on the countertop, pumping her fist into the air. "Then she gets an adorable little sister, a fun dad, and the world's coolest uncle! And the best part is she gets to stay!"

"You sure? If we do offer her a home, there are no take backs." Tai sat his daughter back down, taking her hands in his. "She'll be family, I can't treat you and Rubes any different. That means sometimes if you're fighting, I may take her side… sometimes she may get something and you'll think that you don't. All three of you will be special in your own ways."

"I think… she needs help… and she doesn't know it…" the little girl scratched her head, trying to understand concepts far above her age. "Other people might be able to help… but I KNOW we can… If we can help her, we should... isn't that what…"

Yang closed her eyes and took a deep breath, the room went quiet. When she finally composed herself… she continued "isn't that what mom would say?"

"Yang, my sunny little dragon…" Tai lifted her into his arms. "... I don't think I could be more proud of you."

* * *

"Yang!" Ruby ran over to her sister as she entered Ruby's bedroom. She had been trying to teach Lenore how to play 'Remnant: The Board Game Junior' with mixed results… her losing badly being the results. Yang coming in was just the excuse she needed to leave the game. "What did you need ta talk ta Dad about."

"Oh...uh. just tried to get out of the punishment from last night…" Yang lied through her teeth. She figured it'd be best for her dad to be the one to talk to the two (supposedly) younger girls. "Nope, still grounded."

"Then we are the same," Lenore said, holding up her bandaged wing. "I too, am stuck on the ground."

"Phahah-snort-ha" yang fell to the ground holding her stomach, much to the confusion of Ruby and Lenore. It took nearly 10 minutes for her to calm down enough to talk. "Ha, that was a good one, you're pretty funny when you want to be."

"I am?" Lenore's head tilted to the side. What did being stuck on land have to do with that extreme reaction.

"Yeah, you are. That joke was perfect. I'm gonna need to step up my game if I wanna stay the funny one." Yang's statement only served to further Lenore's conundrum, now involving steps… "But, future me will need to worry about that, because… It's bedtime."

"It's 8:47," Lenore replied looking at a clock. While Ruby was teaching her the game she had managed to work out most of the basic functions of objects in the house. Apparently, she had done well because the system had deemed it worthy of an additional point of Intuition.

"Yuppers, we got a bit of extra time tonight because of our afternoon nap… let's hit the hay." Yang lifted up Ruby placing her on the bed. She raised her eyebrow at Lenore searching the room. "Lenore… whatcha looking for?"

"Hay." She had moved to the window. She used her enhanced sight to scan the yard for her quarry. "Perhaps the shed."

"Enough of that, pretty bird. Sleep time." Yang lifted Lenore. The girl was only slightly smaller than her but weighed less than Ruby much to her surprise. "What do you want for a bedtime story tonight, 'The Shallow Sea' maybe 'The Four Seasons'?"

"Actually, Yang…" Ruby was practically hiding behind a large book.

"Rubes… I'm sorry…" Yang stared at her feet. "I know it was… I'm trying, but I can't get most of it… soon. I promise."

"That's not it. Lenore can read it." Ruby was barely peeking from behind the cover. "You always liked when mom would read too… this way we can both hear her favorite."

"Hmm…" Yang wasn't sure what to say. On the one hand, she wanted to show how great of a big sister she could be… but she really wanted to hear her mom's favorite book again. "Are you okay with that? I don't want to force you."

"I can certainly read aloud." Lenore nodded "but I will require someone to hold the book and turn the pages. It is rather inconvenient with only two fingers."

"Alrighty then." Yang walked Lenore over to the bed and say down beside the two.

"NoNoNo! We gotta do it like this!" Ruby took Yang over to the side with Lenore's good wing, the sat herself in Lenore's lap who followed by wrapping her wing around the sisters. "There! Lenore Blanket!"

"Wow…" Yang snuggled up to her sister and hopefully future sister. "Alright, whenever you're ready!"

"In a hole in the ground, there lived a Hobbit…"

She only realized the two girls had fallen asleep when the pages stopped turning. It was in the middle of an odd encounter where the mole faunus had been captured by talking Ursa… utterly ridiculous, she was the only Grimm that could talk...and the one she didn't want to think about… her shiver was only suppressed because of the wonderful warmth from Ruby and Yang. Immediately, almost unnaturally, she followed suit.

* * *

AN: Alrighty, this chapter was a fun one to write. I absolutely love kids and childish interactions. I wrote Ruby as more... child-like.. sweet and innocent but somewhat blind to how her personality affects others but very good at picking up when people are down. She's the kind of kid you can't keep down for very long. Not much to say here.

Yang, on the other hand, has more trouble figuring out her own emotions. I could see Yang's first response to any emotional situation (especially as a kid, before she's aware of a problem) is to get angry, only later realizing that she was sad or scared or even excited. Yang's 'out-of-nowhere' emotional breakdown is a lot more realistic than you may think. I work at a daycare and had called a kid away from his friends (who he was happily playing with, Laughing, smiling, the whole nine yards) to tie his shoe... and the kid just... broke down... His mom was away on a business trip and wouldn't be home for dinner... all that from me asking to tie his shoe. I tried to make it a little more natural than that, but people may still have a slight issue with it. I love protective, Big-sis/mom Yang as an idea. I like to imagine that she got really good at sewing just to patch up Ruby's cape when it got ripped or getting up and ready early to make Ruby's lunch for school.

Tai... I feel like I might get a bit of flack for. Everyone seems to write him as a broken man... and I just can't picture it. Maybe it's how his daughter's act, maybe I'm just crazy but... he seems great. What I more see is a man who WAS broken when his first wife left and he was pulled out of that by Summer... When he lost her, rather than falling back into depression he threw himself into making sure his daughters are okay. I know this contradicts what yang says in a flashback, but Yang was very young at the time and picking up more on the fewer moments of weakness than the more positive side, or maybe even just focusing on the week or so right after. That's just how I choose to see it.

Next chapter is currently sitting at about 3000 words. I got through the tough part, all I have to do now is power through to the chapter ending I have planned.


	7. Bonds

A week had passed mostly uneventfully bat the Xiao-long household. The only thing of note was Tai teaching Lenore how to use a search engine in an attempt to explain the workings of an internal combustion engine.

Tai saw her as a quiet and thoughtful girl… until something peaked her inexhaustible curiosity. How does the oven heat up, how does the television receive a picture to display, when you close the refrigerator door does the light stay on… but she always seemed to enjoy figuring it out on her own more.

It was a vast improvement over her first day… Tai was certain, this girl belonged here. He had spoken with Ruby about adopting the faunus earlier in the week and, unsurprisingly, she was completely on board.

All that was left was to talk to Lenore. He had a plan laid out. First, he'd remove her bandages this morning and let her stretch and burn some energy. Then, he and Qrow would try to get to the bottom off her semblance?. And finally, ask if she'd like to stay.

No matter her choice, Tai fully planned on supporting her in any way he could. Not because she saved his daughters. Not because she brought his wife back for him to say a proper goodbye. He would be there because this little girl needs someone to truly support her, not just physically, or monetarily, but emotionally.

She struggled to identify even the most obvious of emotional cues, especially her own. She'd instead refer to them as warm or cold. Not the worst description hed ever heard, but it meant that individual feelings would run together. Sad was the same as lonely, happy the same as mad… she could read at a level of kids twice her age, but ask how she felt when she dropped her ice cream… and you'd get a blank stare.

He walks into his youngest daughter's room to the familiar sight of the three children all tucked beneath Lenore's wing. Apparently, Lenore's bedtime stories were enough to put even yang to sleep even though she said she was too old for them. "Rise and shine, it's time to greet the dawn!"

* * *

 _Who am I?_

 **.**

 **Lenore, Female Lenore, Age: 7 years, Level 10**

 **Vitality: 48 = [ 1.1 (lv + 2) x Endurance]**

 **Aura= 45 = ½ [ 1 (lv + 2) x Psyche]**

 **Negativity: N/A / 8250**

 **Fighting: 3**

 **Agility: 16**

 **Strength: 3**

 **Endurance: 4**

 **Reason: 12**

 **Intuition: 13**

 **Psyche: 15**

 **Boons**

 **Fatal Feathers, Negative Requiem (Locked), Beowulf in Sheep's Clothing, Of Two Forms, Cosmic Game, Basic Sentience, Third Step on the Never Ending Path, Magpie Nest, Just the Wind and Nothing More, Eagle Eye, Haunted, Identify, Loneliness Broken, Shield of the Soul, Soul Made Flesh, Soul Nourished Body**

 **Boon Points: 10**

 **Titles**

 **Trailblazer of Knowledge, Just the Wind and Nothing More, Haunted, Loneliness Broken, Unique Species, Motion Sickness Master, Bound Soul**

 **.**

"Hello, dawn." Lenore woke from the slightest provocation. Although completely able to, she didn't get up immediately, instead of staying still until the other two began to stir.

"ghh… five more hours." yang buried her face into her pillow in an attempt to stave off the morning.

Ruby was tossing and turning while muttering strange sounds. Earlier in the week, Yang had explained that Ruby was probably dreaming of being a hero. Just being around the two made her feel warm.

"That's ok. You can stay asleep…" Tai said, louder than he usually would when others are sleeping "c'mon Lenore, let's get those wrappings off…"

"TODAY'S WING DAY!" Ruby was the first moving, already down the stairs before Lenore had even left the bed. She then proceeded to shout back up the stairs "Let's go, turtles!"

"I somewhat understood when she said I was a goose…" Lenore followed at a far more leisurely pace. "...but I am certain I am not a turtle."

"There she is." Qrow was seated on the couch, nonchalantly sipping coffee as Ruby attempted to climb on top of his head. "Excited to get those bandages off?"

"The thought of having my other wing back is warm," Lenore responded, she didn't know it but her face betrayed just how happy she was. "Not having it has been very inconvenient."

"Well let's fix that." Tai came down the stairs, carrying a groggy Yang in his arms. He placed her next to Qrow and got to work unraveling Lenore's wing. He gave the limb a good once over before he stepped back. "Alright, everything looks good. Give them a good stretch, to make sure."

 **.**

 **You have taken near-fatal damage and come out stronger, a new Boon has been constructed.**

 **Boon: Tough Body: Your vitality is increased by 10%. You recover an additional point of Vitality a day.**

 **.**

"I can't," Lenore said, ignoring the voice.

"What! Does it hurt!?" Ruby hopped off of her uncle and hugged Lenore. "Don't worry, we're all here. You can cry if you want."

"No, I haven't been in pain for several days." Lenore looked down at Ruby and patted her head like Tai had done so many time. It seemed to calm the smaller girl. "There is simply not enough room."

"Let's go then!" Ruby began pulling and before anyone could protest they were outside. "Now try!"

"Alright." Lenore spread both her wings as far as she could.

"Woah…" Yang's gasp captured everyone's reaction. They had never seen her wings fully extend before. Each one was nearly 7 feet of feathers and muscle. "So, how fast can you go with those things."

"I don't know…" Lenore looked at her wings. Despite flying nearly constantly for the two or so years since leaving Salem's Domain… she had never attempted to find her top speed, instead opting for a consistent soaring flight.

"Yang, even if they have wings… bird faunus can't…" Tai was cut off by a rush of wind and dirt as Lenore took to the skies. The two young girls cheered as he and Qrow stood stunned. "Huh… ya know… I think she actually told us she flew here…"

"Yeah… yeah, she did but… did you really expect this." Qrow was just watching as the quiet and reserved girl performed a spinning dive, pulling up so close to the ground that her toes brushed the grass. With one final flip, she landed in front of the family.

"About that fast." Lenore continued her previous thought. "Although if I gained more height I could probably accelerate a great deal more.

"AWESOME!" The chorus of cheers from Ruby and Yang brought a different warm to her… a warm she enjoyed but wanted to stop…

"Can you take ME up!" Ruby was reaching up as if she expected to be lifted.

Tai began to open his mouth but Lenore spoke before him. "Ruby… I have no way to hold you… I can't have you on my back because of the weight on my shoulders… the only way would be for you to hold my feet… but you would most likely not be able to grip and fall… I'm sorry but I refuse."

"But… pah-WEEEEEZE!" Ruby jutted out her bottom lip.

"N…" Lenore was about to respond when a cold feeling spread. As she looks down at little Ruby, it washed over her. It was nearly unbearable, the thought of saying no…

"Stay strong, Lenore!" Tai encouraged "Resist the Puppy Dog Eyes!"

Lenore's defenses were crumbling under the unrestrained adorable assault. She had no immunity to Ruby's sweetness. It wouldn't be long before she caved in. Ruby could help but congratulate herself 'All part of my netary… nefitary… EVIL plan.'

Ruby would have been correct if the image of the child plummeting hundreds of feet to the ground did not enter Lenore's head. If the saying no felt cold, Ruby's death froze her to the bone. She took a breath and spoke a single word. "No."

"Gah!" Ruby fell to the ground grasping her heart. "How can this be! it's not possible!"

"Cill, little sis." Yang rolled her eyes as she lifted her sister onto her shoulders "let's go get a cookie to get you back to full power."

"Yes, this shall not be the last you'll hear of me!" Ruby's voice echoed even as she disappeared into the house. "I shall return!"

"Why wouldn't she return… she lives here?" Lenore tilted her head in confusion.

"Eh, ignore her." Qrow quipped "She's always had a flair for the dramatic."

"Okay, let's head back…" Tai stopped as he saw Lenore unmoving, eyes fixed on the clouds. "Why don't you go tire yourself out, me and Qrow'll wait to talk with you till then.

Without a word, Lenore zoomed high, higher than she had in her little show. She had been stuck for so long, and she wanted nothing more than to fly once again

* * *

 **.**

 **Your will to fly truly staggering distances has earned you a new title, Migratory**

 **+1 Agility, +1 Endurance**

 **Migratory: Your agility is doubled when flying for greater than one hour without any major changes to your Altitude or Direction. In addition, you can always determine your compass heading while outside.**

 **.**

Lenore circled around, flying was wonderful… but why did it feel so cold? She landed on a massive mound of sand. From the sky, she could see a city, some towns, people, Grimm, animal, even the ocean… but on the ground, only sand. Empty, monochrome… she wanted to be warm again.

A week ago, the new landscape would have been fascinating. Every creature, building and plant, something new that she'd never seen. A great deal had changed in such a short time.

Tai had told her 'fly until she tired out'... How long was that supposed to take? She had just flown for three days straight, but no exhaustion took her… she didn't feel fatigue.

Perhaps Tai would forgive her for coming back early…

She returned to the Xiao-long house to find it oddly quiet. Nobody was outside. She touched down outside the front door. She attempted to open it… only to find it locked.

 _Odd… it's midday. I've only ever seen the door locked at night._

She walked the property keeping her eyes open for anomalies. The vehicle was missing, fresh tire tracks, two sets of footprints, one small, one large… cookie crumbs...

 _Conclusion, Tai and Ruby left… reason unknown… Hypothesis, Yang is home… commence observation._

She flew to the roof above Yang's bedroom window, spotting a blonde fluff ball sprawled out on the bed. Lenore reached her wind down to the window and gently tapped. No response.

Lenore lowered her body over the edge of the roof, into the young girl's room…

 _Non-responsive, faint sounds, damp face… tears… Conclusion, yang is hurt… and no one is here to help her..._

Her body was moving, she swooped to the back door… locked. Cellar entrance… locked. It took some time before she was able to find a window she could shimmy through without her wings getting stuck. When she arrived at Yang's room, she didn't hesitate to wrap her wings around the girl.

"Lenore!" Yang shouted. She nearly fell off the bed when the feathers surrounded her. "Why are you here!"

"I saw in the window," Lenore answered, waiting for the embrace to be returned... it t wasn't. It was unsettling "I saw you crying… when you cry, this makes you stop."

"HUGS DON'T FIX EVERYTHING!" Yang shouted as she pulled away from the embrace. "Why don't you just go away… it's what you're going to do anyway."

Lenore opened her mouth to respond but the words died on her lips. Looking at Yang, the one who helped her realize how nice the warm was… now made her feel so cold. She was being accused, it made sense to defend herself… but she didn't, couldn't say anything… instead, she just turned and left.

* * *

Lenore sat on the couch alone… the cold feeling had yet to leave. She wrapped herself in her wings. everyone said her wings were warm, why weren't they warm had said he'd wait inside. Where was he?

Yang had physically lashed out… last time she had done that, yang had felt threatened… did she feel that way now? Why was this so hard?

She lowered her head, blocking out all the light. She tried to avoid the only answer she could arrive at…

 _They want me gone…_

If that's what they wished, she'd oblige. She gave the room one last look, recalling all of the warm memories it held. The colors seemed dim, almost like looking through a fog. She slowly made her way towards the door… only to be snapped back to reality by a scraping beyond the window, a black shape could be seen.

 **.**

 **Ursa, age 3 years, Level 13**

 **Title: Man-eater**

 **Vitality: 750**

 **.**

Lenore froze as she watched a claw as large has her head smash through the window. She had to get away, her feathers wouldn't do much against something so large, especially in such a confined space. If she could make it to the back door, she could escape… leaving Yang alone with the beast…

She was stuck between two options… meet her end or, by her inaction, end Yang… She couldn't move, her legs were shaking and her every instinct told her to flee… but she just couldn't. The bear-like Grimm was forcing its way through the window, slowly breaking the wall for additional room. It would not be long before her indecision would become moot.

"Lenore, this way!" Yang shouted as she grabbed Lenore's shoulder and pulled her up the stairs. When the reached the top, she pulled a rope to the attic ladder. Once the opening was revealed, she began pushing the smaller girl up. "You first!"

Once they were both up, she retracted the ladder and flipped a pair of switches on the wall. The first did nothing obvious but the second lit the room. It was stocked with cans of food, water, blankets… everything a human would need to survive for an extended period.

"Dad or Uncle Qrow should be here soon," Yang said as she took a small package from her pocket. She dumped the colorful contents into her palm and held them towards Lenore. "Don't worry, this time big sister's gonna protect you."

"Why…" Lenore's couldn't bring herself to look at the taller girl. "You didn't want me here… I could have lured it away. You didn't need to risk yourself…"

"Listen… I was mad, but that doesn't mean I don't want you here." Yang took a deep breath and popped the candy into her mouth before continuing. "I… when you left… it hurt me. A lot of people left me… it hurt when I thought you were leaving too."

Hurt… she had caused Yang pain… negativity. She dropped to her knees, tears streaming down her face. Yang's negativity had drawn the Grimm here. Negativity, Lenore had caused… she had nearly killed them.

Thoughts of the village of Greyfeild filled her mind. The faces of every single person appeared in her mind. She had been uninformed when she had witnessed… caused the destruction and...death. she had believed, with the knowledge she had gained from the slaughter, she would never cause such a horror again. Yet here she was, she had drawn Grimm to the home of Tai, of Ruby, of Yang… had she never left, they wouldn't have been in danger.

She couldn't understand why, but the thought of harm coming to the Xiao-long family filled her with dread. A fear that eclipsed any before.

"I never wanted to hurt you, Yang." Lenore sobbed, she buried her face in her wing. She couldn't bear to see the girl's warm face while she felt so cold. "But I did… and put you in danger…"

"Lenore… I don't think… I've been upset since you left and didn't bring any Grimm… until I yelled at you." Yang gently stroked the smaller girl's hair. Lenore felt a pair of arms wrap her in a hug. "I'm sorry Lenore, what I said… it really hurt you... didn't I?"

"Hurt…" Lenore thought about Yang's words. Was she hurt? She understood that Yang didn't mean physically but… mentally. What did it mean to be hurt… was that the cold she felt? "I… I don't know…"

"You don't need to say anything, I'll be here." Yang pulled Lenore closer. She strained her ears attempting to listen to the chaos down below. "No matter what happens, no matter how mad i get… I'm here for you. It should be over soon, try and get some rest."

Lenore focused on Yang's hands, gently rubbing her back circles. It was slowly causing the cold to fade. The warm was coming back, this was the entire reason she returned. She wondered if Yang was feeling the same warm… She hoped that was the case.

Theys sat silently for quite some time. Yang had nodded off on the smaller girl's shoulder. Lenore was impressed that Yang was capable of relaxing in such a situation. Just below them, imminent death was tearing up her house… the noises had gotten louder again before… silence.

"You alright up there, Firecracker?" Qrow's voice called up from the lower floor, causing Yang to stir.

"All good, Uncle Qrow!" Yang went over to the ladder and lowered it to allow the man to come up. "I suppose those Grimm drills at daycare paid off after all… I probably owe Miss Vinella an apology."

"You don't owe that spinster anything, Firecracker…" his eyes fell on the black shape in the center of the room and his hand reflexively reached for the blade on his back. Right before he was about to leap forward, he made eye contact with it… her. He relaxed slightly and moved towards the small girl.

Cold, like ice, surrounded her body. The look in Qrow's eyes… it wasn't the same as when she had met him before. He was about to… end her.

 **.**

 **You have experienced true danger and helplessness. A new boon has been constructed.**

 **Detect Emotion; Killing Intent: You can immediately detect when creatures with souls are out to kill. The source of such emotions may not be immediately recognizable.**

 **.**

Qrow… was more than he appeared. He had not only eliminated the man-eating Grimm quickly, based on the sounds from below… but he didn't have a scratch on him. He is certainly more than he lets on

 _Who are you…_

 **.**

 **Qrow Branwen, Male Human, Age 29, Level 35***

 **Title: Bad Luck Charm**

 **.**

 _Branwen!_

Lenore pushed herself back against the wall. In that moment, his eyes were similar to her. Eyes of a killer. The murderous feeling had passed but the cold lingered.

"Well, look who the cat dragged in," Qrow approached, she flinched away. "Didn't mean to scare ya. Sorry kid."

"Don't worry, Uncle Qrow is like… supa strong!" Yang flexed as she spoke, her grin stretching across her face. "I knew he'd get rid of that Ursa!"

"On that note, I'm gonna take some pictures of the damage. Your dad and Rubes should be home soon, we should stay on the safe side and have you two wait up here until then…" He patted yang's head and went back down the ladder. "and Lenore, glad your back."

Glad I'm back… then why weren't you here? Could it have been my own misunderstanding?

"See?" Yang jumped over and hugged Lenore once more "Ruby'll be so happy ta see you!"

"Yang…" Lenore enjoyed the warmth...but something was not right. She had hurt Yang and… now things were back to the way things were before? No… something needed to change or this would happen again. She would have to change something. "I value you. I value the relationship I've built with you and the rest of your family…"

"Lenore…" Yang scratched the back of her head. "You use really big words."

"What I mean is… Lenore could find the right words. Her wish is to convey her emotions to Yang, but she doesn't truly understand herself… she could only think of one way.

 **.**

 **Gold Ally Kattz Necklace removed from Magpie Nest: 2/16**

 **.**

"This… was given to me by the one who helped direct me to Patch…" Lenore held out the small pendant… "I hope to return it to her someday… and thank her... She helped me find my way and find you…"

Yang's eyes were glued to the necklace produced from nowhere. She had tried to find out about Lenore's past over the week they spent together but she always closed off. It was strange hearing her talk about it herself. "It's beautiful."

"It is." Lenore felt warm looking at it once more. Her thoughts wandered briefly to Kali, she wondered if she was doing well… in the past two weeks… it seems as if more has happened than her entire life before. She held the necklace out to Yang. "Would you take care of it for me?"

"But… it seems important to you…" Yang hesitated.

"It is, but you are as well." Lenore reached out, opened Yang's hand and placed the jewelry in it. "I need it back one day… if you have it… you know I'll always need to come back…"

"Lenore…" Yang unclasped the chain and placed it around her own neck. She gently held the small pendant up to the light. She wrapped her arms around Lenore to prevent the smaller girl from seeing her tears. "I don't know what to say…"

"Neither do I… I rarely do." Lenore reciprocated the hug. "I… wished to make you understand… I will never intentionally hurt you or your family ever again… but my words seem… insufficient."

"Don't worry, big sis'll be there for you too." Yang gently stroked the smaller girls hair, hoping to comfort her. "We all will…"

"WHAT! I TOLD YOU SO!" a shrill voice echoed from the downstairs. "I KNEW SHE'D BE BACK!"

Yang couldn't help but chuckle at her sister's antics. She felt Lenore tense in her arms. She was about to say something when a small red blur rushed into the pile, knocking them both flat.

"I knew you'd be back!" Ruby nuzzled up against the soft wing. "I told dad you probably just weren't tired yet, but he wouldn't listen."

"Don't suffocate the poor girl." Tai followed carrying a plastic box.

"Tai, I… am sorry for not following your instruction." Lenor hid her head once again. "However, after four days… I came back… even though I had not become exhausted… but I… wanted to come back… I wanted this…"

"Lenore…" Tai was stunned. She had flown probably several days without rest… because he told her to. "You didn't do anything wrong… I should have been more careful with what I said… I figured you'd be out for an hour or two…"

"I knew you'd be back." Ruby's smiling face filled Lenore with warmth once again. "Ooh! I wanna introduce you."

Ruby rushed over to the container in her father's hand. She opened it and pulled out a small grey and white ball of fluff. The fluff gave off a sharp sound causing Lenore to recoil slightly.

 **.**

 **Zwie, Male Canine, Age: 0 years, Level: 1**

 **Title: Pet**

 **.**

"Lenore, meet Zwei! Our new puppy!" Ruby cuddled the small dog in her cape, rubbing it against her cheek. "We just picked him up today! Isn't he adorable!"

"He's…" she wasn't sure what to say, an outright rejection would likely cause a cold feeling… but she wasn't sure if it qualified as adorable. But its unwavering stare reminded her… of Ruby… _is Ruby adorable?_ Her looks certainly caused warmth in those who saw her… "yes, quite adorable."

"This is his home now, It can be yours too." Tai placed his hand on Lenore's head. "We'd love to have you but no matter what you decide… you can come to us whenever you need to."

 **.**

 **You have earned a new title. Choose either Found Serenity or To the Black**

 **.**

Ruby and Yang were talking, but Lenore couldn't focus on it. A… home… she understood that it meant more than just a place to live. She wasn't sure she could remain in one place… but in her short time with the Xiao-longs, she had realized just how alone she had been.

"Listen, there's no pressure to answer now." Tai lifted Ruby into his arms. "Let's have some dinner. If I had to guess, you probably haven't had a good meal since you left."

"Tai…" Lenore reached out and gently tugged on the edge of his shirt. "My time here has been more… warm than any other time in my life. So… if you'd allow it, I would… I'd like to stay…"

Before Tai could respond, Ruby launched herself from his arms landing on top Lenore closely followed by Yang. Tai laughed lightly as he lifted all three into a big hug. "Welcome home."

 **.**

 **You have chosen the title, Found Serenity**

 **+5 Psyche**

 **Boon: Bonds of Serenity: When meaningful bonds are tested and not broken, stat points or boons can be gained.**

 **A Bond has been formed with Ruby Xiao-Long. This bond is yet to be tested.**

 **A Bond has been formed with Taiyang Xiao-Long. This Bond is yet to be tested**

 **A Bond has been formed with Yang Xiao-Long. This bond has been tested and emerged stronger: +1 Endurance.**

 **.**

Lenore shook her head slightly rubbing her eyes. She hadn't been prepared for a large amount of text blocking her line of sight. Tai looked down at the young child with some confusion. "You alright?"

"Fine." Lenore responded rather matter-of-factly "My vision was filled momentarily with the title and boon description I just gained. I was unprepared for the large amount."

"The… What now?" Tai had no idea what to make of that, but it could wait until after dinner.

* * *

"So… it's like a video game?" Qrow asked. He and Tai sat on the half-destroyed couch while Lenore occupied the recliner. Tai rolled his eyes at that comment. "What? Inventory, Levels, Stats and just replace negativity with XP and, Boom, you've got a run of the mill Mistral RPG."

"I don't know what that is…" Lenore cocked her head to the side. Perhaps she'd need to check out these video games.

"Ignore him. So this… ability allows you to see information and gauge the strength of those you look at?" Tai asked earning a nod from the girl. "Is it automatic or is there some kind of trigger?"

"It triggers when I wish to know more about what I'm looking at," Lenore responded. She did not like this line of conversation. She had been carefully testing the limits of the 'system' for years, there would be very little if any new information for her to gain. In addition, she didn't want to accidentally waste her last remaining question.

"So… What's it say about Tai?" Qrow took a swig from his flask.

"Taiyang Xiao-long, Age 29, Level 58. Title: Proud Father and Mighty Sun Dragon. Fighting: 55, Agility: 26, Strength: 62, Endurance: 48, Reason: 12, Intuition: 17, Psyche: 17…" As Lenore looked at the familiar numbers, a strange curiosity gripped her. She spoke before she thought better of it. "...Odd… your level and age are nearly identical to Summers and…" she shivered slightly "...another I've seen in my travels."

This caught the attention of Qrow and Tai. They shared a look before turning back to her. "Lenore… who…"

"I… I don't want to think about… her." Lenore pulled up her legs and wrapped herself in her wings. She fixed her red eyes on Qrow, she had felt… cold around him from the moment she learned his second name.

"Lenore… I don't want to make you uncomfortable, but this is important." Tai walked over and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Was her name… R-raven Branwen?"

Lenore stayed silent and just nodded.

"I'm guessing that's why you've been givin' me the evil eye." Qrow sighed. "Probably hadn't used your little analysis thing on me until after I took down that Ursa."

"So… You've met Raven…" Tai pulled her into a hug. "This may seem like a weird thing to ask, but could you not bring her up around Yang."

"I have no intention of speaking about her any more than I need to." Lenore responded "She... I do not believe myself to be easily scared but, she... fills me with dread."

"Don't worry kid," Qrow laughed a bit "Of all the places in Remnant… this is probably the LAST place she'd show up…" Tai glared at him. "What. It's true."

"He's not wrong." Tai's voice sounded… cold… his fist was shaking slightly. "One last question about her, and I promise I won't bring her up again. Did she… hurt you?"

"No…" Lenore wouldn't look them. She just wanted to stop thinking about… her. When she thought of Raven her mind could help but wander to… her.

"When I say hurt, I don't just mean physically." Tai placed his hand under her chin and forced her to look him in the eye. "That cold feeling… that could be you feeling hurt."

"Cold could be hurt…" that did match up with what had happened with Yang. "I saw her… end three people…"

"THAT PSYCHOTIC…" Tai smashed his hand down on the arm of the chair, smashing it to pieces. "How could she do that in front of a KID."

"She didn't know I was there. I was hiding in a tree…" Lenore shook as she remembered the look in Raven's eyes… so similar to… she shook her head in a vain attempt to distract herself from her. "... I don't think she noticed me until right before she vanished…"

"You saw something pretty awful, something… I wish you could have gone your whole life without seeing." Tai lifted her up and carried her to the couch. He placed her down next to Qrow and kneeled down in front of her. "I'm so sorry you had to go through so much alone… but you don't need to be afraid of her anymore. I swear to you."

Lenore didn't respond. She couldn't get… her… out of her thoughts. Her hands running across her wings felt so different than when Yang would do the same. She was shaking, tears running down her face… she felt like her throat was closing.

"Lemore! It's okay" Tai puller her tight up against him, gently rubbing her back. "Raven can't hurt you here."

"Kid, we can't help ya… if you don't tell us what's really wrong." Qrow reached over and patted her head. "And I get the feeling that my sister," this got Lenore's attention. "...ain't it."

"No…" Lenore shook against Tai. "I-i can't… I don't want to think about… her… but when I think of Raven… I can't help it… their eyes… so..."

"Lenore… no matter who it is, I will protect you." Tai smiled "You've seen it, me and Qrow are no slouches when it comes to fighting…"

"NO!" Lenore's eyes went wide. She was terrified of ever seeing… Her again, but the thought of Tai meeting… her was somehow worse. Even though she had no idea how strong she was… Lenore could tell Tai and Qrow would be outmatched ten times over. It would be a massacre.

"So… this person you're afraid of, stronger than me and Tai… together." Qrow narrowed his eyes, the list of people in the world who could take on the two of them at the same time… was extremely short. Lenore nodded without hesitation… that is worrying. "I won't ask the name, you're obviously afraid… but how did you know them?"

"She… she… said she was my mother…" Tai and Qrow froze "I've only met two mothers... Summer and Kali… but I know for a fact… she is no mother…"

"Kid, you're a tough one. You're clever and a whole bunch of other things. Whatever you left behind, that ain't family. But this here…" Qrow gave Tai a light punch in the arm. He glanced at his scroll that had been buzzing from around the time they began speaking about Raven. "This is the real deal. I've gotta jet, the Beacon third years that took the patrol job found some stragglers… geez, when did Patch get this many Grimm. Stay safe tonight."

"You too." Tai reached out his hand and clasped Qrow's. Once Qrow waked out, Tai scooped up Lenore. "Now… those were some pretty heavy conversations, huh?"

"I don't understand…" Lenore shook her head. Tai tensed, worrying what she was about to say. "...concept's aren't affected by gravity, so they cannot have weight."

"Oh boy, you may be really smart," Tai carried her up the stairs. "But you still have a lot to learn."

"We are in agreement." she leaned into Tai, she liked being carried. "I intend to never stop learning."

"That's a fantastic goal." Tai pulled the rope to bring down the ladder to the attic. "Until the wall get's patched, I want you girls to sleep in the panic room. Call me paranoid, but I just want you all to be safe."

"That makes sense, Paranoid," Lenore responded flatly.

"Right, gotta keep it literal…" He brought her over to the sleeping forms of Yang, Ruby, and Zwei. He laid her down next to the children and she draped her wing over the girls.

"Warm." she sighed as Tai draped a blanket over the girl still exposed to the elements.

"That feeling is happiness, Lenore." He bent down and pressed his lips to Ruby's forehead. He followed up by doing the same to Yang. Despite the obvious pattern, she was still surprised when he also performed the act for her. "Goodnight."

* * *

"Good work, Oleander." Qrow patted the younger girl on the shoulder. "You and the rest of team Ocean go get some sleep. I'll report to Oz."

"Thank you, sir." She saluted and walked over to the rest of her team.

"Geez, kids these days…" Qrow rolled his eyes once he was sure they were out of sight. He took out his scroll and pressed a single contact. "You were right about the Grimm… It seems like every Grimm on the island converged on Tai's house. It could have gone really bad if you hadn't sent Team Ocean… As a teacher, I'd say they deserve a solid B+. I knocked some points for calling me, sir."

"I'm glad they met your expectations." the voice chuckled slightly. "Do you have a lead on what could have caused it?"

"Yeah… about that." Qrow sighed as he thought back to his newly adopted niece. "You remember the injured faunus girl I mentioned Tai was taking care of… the one with the powerful semblance…"

"I recall." that was Ozpin's only response.

"She came back… I figure she met up with Tai's oldest who said something to really hurt her…" Qrow speculated. "I wouldn't have thought that one little girl couldn't have drawn all those Grimm…"

"But…" Ozpin was being very terse. The spike in Grimm activity was worrying, to say the least.

"I got a few details about her past…" Qrow hesitated "It's not a lot but… long story short, her semblance can determine people's fighting strength…"

"That would explain her trepidation during our brief meeting…" Ozpin muttered.

"Yeah… and she's absolutely terrified of her own mother and when Tai said we'd protect her…" Qrow took a deep breath. "She's convinced we wouldn't stand a chance. Any other kid, I'd say it's just a skewed perspective… but she can crunch the numbers herself. I'm inclined to believe she's right."

The line was quiet but Qrow sill waited for a response. Silence and nothing more.

"So what's the next move." Qrow finally broke the silence.

"Observe. It's too early to for anything to be certain." Ozpin finally broke the silence. "She is still a child, and I trust Tai can care for her. In the future, though… Attempt to direct her towards attending Beacon."

"Shouldn't be too difficult. She's gonna grow up in a hunter family… Yang and Rubes are both already looking at the huntsmen life with stars in their eyes…" Qrow hesitated slightly "Should I try to get a bit more info out of her."

"No," Ozpin responded. "It would be best to wait, for now, allow her the happy childhood she'd been denied until now. It's rare that one gets a second chance like this."

"Alright. I'll keep you in the loop." Her closed his scroll. After a moment he lifted his flask and knocked back the entire thing. "Kid… I'm trusting you… don't make me regret it..."

* * *

 **A/N: Updated 11/19/2017**

 **OH boy this chapter was hard to write, everything after 'HUGS DON't FIX EVERYTHING" was written Tuesday. I'm not sure if everything flowed properly but considering I've been stuck there for almost a week and a half... i'd say it came out passable... BUT on plus side... The next 2 are nearly done.**

 **also trying something new with game text.**

 **I've had a few people ask about a time skip. On the one hand, a time skip gets you to the meat of a story more quickly (more crunch less fluff)... BUT I really like fluff and judging by the responses I've been getting, so do you guys.**

 **So my plan from the start was to make a whole bunch of mini chapters just giving a look into the family life of the now larger Xiao-long family. Right now I've got 2 updates worth of fluff stories (with just enough crunch to make them worth it.) about things like... Lenore tries to learn to tie her shoes or Yang teaches her to fight... Unfortunately... my FAVORITE IDEA... kind of... stunk when i wrote it out... it was Lenore finding 'People Like Grape' soda and making it her favorite soda because... people like it... but she cant stand the taste... but keeps drinking it...**

 **Oh right, OCs not named Lenore will have next to no impact on the story... I just feel like names make them feel more real... descriptions would do even better but... i didn't feel like doing the work... but it's better than them just being black silhouettes.**

 **Skipping over how the characters get where they are, i feel, would make the rest of what i had planned feel... cheap? or not earned? I'm not sure how to put it. At my current pace... I think I'll catch up to the first episode just before Christmas... but i kind of want to take a week or two break before that to build up a bit more of a buffer so i can release regularly... as well as work on a few other stories I'm playing around with (none of them are nearly as planned out as this.) Two indulgent crossovers and a story where a character lives their life again with knowledge of what happens in the future... WAIT DON'T UN FOLLOW YET, I SWEAR THEY ARE BETTER THAN THAN THEY SOUND... maybe... At least the reborn younger one is...**

 **That story, I kinda wanted to do a bit of what id did here... take something that has gotten a bit stale and try something new. Again, we always see Jaune go back to when he's a kid and become a badass... Three things always stick out. 1. Weak Character 2. Tons of unused potential 3. A lot of time. I decided to use NONE of those. Firstly.. Instead of a weak character, I chose arguably one of the strongest cannon character, Pyrrha. Next... may be a bit of a sore spot... I don't think Pyrrha has much untapped potential... She's been training probably her whole life, giving it 100% (or at least 90%) i don't think she COULD train much harder than she already did...Which brings me to the last point... She is sent back to her first on-screen appearance (Right when Jaune talks about an nice, quirky girl) ... she has (i'm kind of guessing the time line a bit.) 8 months to try and change the future... maybe i'll post a bit of it at some point just for feed back.**

 **The other two... no guarantees... on quality or content...**

 **A Thor Crossover... that will either have him arrive not long before the end of V4... OR ... just before the Amber fight and becomes a part time teacher...**

 **(If you have any thought on WHICH i should do... pm me)**

 **And a zyuden sentai kyoryuger (Super Sentai... the thing they use for Power Rangers) crossover where ...Kyoryu Red, Daigo Kiryu (but everyone just calls him king...eventually)... has minimal impact in the actual plot and works for the old man in his noodle shop... seriously... i don't think team RWBY or JNPR even get mentioned by name for the first several chapters... SUN gets more screen time... COCO gets more screen time... FOX gets more lines...**

 **I honestly wouldn't even mention this if i hadn't just read a rather good RWBY/Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger crossover...**


	8. A Quiet Life Part 1

**Lenore Xiao-Long, Female Lenore, Age: 7 years, Level 10**

 **.**

The entire family sat around the table eating breakfast. Luckily the kitchen had been spared in the previous day's grimm attack.

"So, Lenore." Ruby said, spraying little bits of waffle before remembering to swallow. "Where did you go when, ya know."

"Hmm…not sure…" Lenore used her claw to skewer a slice of apple before placing it on her plate. "I don't actually know the names of most of the places I fly… I must fix that."

"Well, why don't you describe it." Tai gathered some of the empty plates off the table and brought them to the sink. "I may not look it, but I've traveled a fair bit. Maybe I can pick it out."

"There was a lot of sand… and all the towns were by the water." Lenore thought back on the landscape. "There were griffins, deathstalkers, nevermore…"

"GRIMM!" Tai nearly dropped the plate he was trying to clean. "You need to be more careful, what if one of them had seen you!"

"They did." Lenore was ignorant to fear displayed on all of their faces. "I just flew away."

"But man." Yang was the first to recover. "I love the sound of beach towns. We should go sometime."

"...Creeps, wyrmms… and destromedaries…" Lenore finished her apple and carefully took her plate over to Tai. "I think those were all the gimm i saw…"

"Destromedaries?" Tai scratched his head. The name sounded familiar but there were certainly none in Vale. "Do they have 4 hooved legs and a big bone hump on their back, travel in big herds?"

"Yes." Lenore stood on her toes to place her plate on the counter. "But some of them had two humps."

"Phhp." Ruby laughed as she attempted to navigate her yogurt filled spoon to her mouth but still be involved in the conversation. "They sound silly looking."

"Lenore… How long were you flying over water before you got to land again." Tai had stopped washing and had his gaze fixed on the winged girl.

"About two and a half days…" Lenore responded innocently "But it only took about a day on the way back."

Tai took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Vacuo… you flew all the way to Vacuo… New rule, Lenore… When flying over water you need to stay close enough to see land."

* * *

 **.**

 **Lenore Xiao-Long, Female Lenore, Age: 7 years, Level 10**

 **.**

"Alright, we've got a big day ahead of us," Tai said as they walked. In one hand he was carrying a list, in the other was Ruby. Lenore was circling just above eye level as Yang ran around after her. "First… I need to place an order at From Dust to Dawn…"

"Ooh." Ruby bounced slightly "Can I go to the magazine rack!?"

"Yes, but only if you leave when I say so." Tai stared down at his youngest, who was doing her best not to look him in the eye. "Don't want a repeat of last time."

"What happened last time?" Lenore asked, the blonde following her.

"Do you remember how we played with dominos?" Yang was trying to stifle a laugh. "It was like that, but with shelves."

"Right, after that we need to get some clothes for Lenore." Tai watched as Yang attempted to grab on to the faunus's ankles only for her to be out of reach.

"Why?" Lenore gave a good flap to stop her forward momentum. She gracefully landed behind Yang. "I already have three sets of clothes…"

For the sake of convenience, Tai had been washing her clothes every night so they wouldn't need to tear up any more old clothes. That would work in the short term but now that she would be living with them she needs a wardrobe.

Her comment caught her big sister's attention, who started to scratch her chin. "Are you counting… the bedsheet?"

"Yes." Lenore tilted her head to the side. "Why would I not?"

"Moving on…" Tai rolled his eyes. "You should change your clothes every day. If you only have 2 sets, you need to do laundry every day. Wouldn't it be better to have a larger amount so you can wait longer before needing to clean."

"Hmm... that's accurate." Lenore scratched her head. Yang had attempted to explain using fashion and taste… clothes tasted terrible. She had been mostly certain that they were not edible but … her sister's comment caused her to doubt.

"I think Lenore would look really good in a combat skirt." Ruby climbed out of her father's grip and onto his shoulders. "Dad, can we get matching combat skirts?"

"Sorry, skirts and flying are not a good combination." Tai shook his head and placed his now free hand on Ruby's foot. "So unless Lenore's going to stay on the ground…"

"No." Lenore stopped in her tracks.

"After clothes… that would be around lunchtime. "I'm thinking Party Pizza…"

Tai was cut off by squeals of delight from two-thirds of the girls. Cheers for wack-a-grimm and ball pits. He didn't miss the small smile on Lenore's face at the mention of pizza.

"Then, we finish off with some grocery shopping." Tai folded the list and placed it in his pocket when he felt a tug on the side of his shirt, a habit Lenore had developed when she wanted attention. "Yes, Lenore?"

"How will you three be getting to the mainland?" Lenore asked.

"Well, the main way off the island is by ferry." He responded pointing up at a flying bullhead. " I figured the four of us could fly together."

He noticed the odd look on her face, but couldn't figure out why… until they took off.

* * *

 **.**

 **Lenore Xiao-Long, Female Lenore, Age: 7 years, Level 10**

 **.**

"Mr. Xiao-long…" Marron, the teenage girl acting as Lenore's tutor approached him as he prepared dinner. "I'm sorry but I can't in good conscience continue teaching your foster daughter."

Tai turned, fury obvious in her eyes. He had dealt with a few racist in the past but he had been careful when selecting Marron. She was one of his top students, she'd never shown any animosity towards faunus… until now. "Why."

"Sir… I swear it isn't what you think. She's a good girl if you get through her shell…" she sighed with relief when she saw his stern gaze soften. "But… I can't teach her things I don't know…"

"What do you mean?" Tai was taken aback, he was glad that he hadn't been wrong when he initially judged her character… but she was only a year out from acceptance to Haven Academy on a full scholarship, a model student. "Sure she's a great reader…"

"That's an understatement, to keep her attention I've had to assign her pre-war epics and high-level textbooks." Marron shook her head. "She's finished all the assigned reading up to a university level. She struggles with symbolism but otherwise… she probably understands this stuff better than me."

"Okay…" Tai scratched his chin. He knew about her reading advanced books as bedtime stories to Ruby and Yang but this is crazy. She grew up alone… where did she pick up reading at all… let alone being able to comprehend on such a high level. "What about everything else?"

"Applied science, arithmetic, history… she even found a physics book on the web…" Marron took a seat at the table and held her head. "I figured she has an eidetic memory, but it's more that that. She is able to understand how to apply all of what she has. I'm really glad she isn't at Signal or I could kiss my valedictorian seat goodbye."

"C'mon. You've got to be exaggerating. She's six, there's no way…" Tai stopped when he saw the serious look on his student's face. "Or...not."

"Sir, I'm glad you gave me this opportunity…" Marron hung her head. "...Sorry I couldn't live up to your expectations."

"Enough of that, how was I supposed to guess that Lenore'd be able to absorb stuff this fast. You've done great, and Headmaster Lionheart will be getting a glowing recommendation letter in the near future." Tai smiled in an attempt to cheer up the teen. "You wanna stick around for dinner, we've got more than enough."

"No thanks, sir." Marron turned and grabbed her bag with a smile. "My mom's expecting me home. I'll see you in class tomorrow."

* * *

 **.**

 **Lenore Xiao-Long, Female Lenore, Age: 7 years, Level 10**

 **.**

"Ruby…" Lenore approached the small girl crying over her puppy. "What is the matter?"

"Z-zwei, he hurt his widdle paw-aw-aw" Ruby couldn't stop the flow of tears as the little pup licked them away. "It's all my-y-y-y fault. I stepted on it!"

After a quick identification, Lenore had determined that the dog was completely fine. But that did little to dissuade Ruby.

"But what if next time I D-DO! I CAN'T BE TRUSTED WITH THIS RESPONSIBILITY!" Ruby shouted, face buried in her hood. "I'll need to give him up… I need to do what's best for him."

Lenore realized that logically, it was highly unlikely that Ruby would or even could do permanent damage to the young dog… but Lenore had learned trying to talk logic to the child was meaningless. She longed to find a way to ease the girl's pain.

"Ruby. Give me some time to find a different solution…" Lenore gently hugged her… sister… they were now sisters. "I don't believe Zwei would wish to leave you."

"Alright." Ruby sniffled. "Thanks... Sis."

Lenore ran inside to get the scroll that Tai had let her use… Ruby needed help, and her sister would provide!

* * *

Tai arrived home with yang after a long day of shopping to find Lenore asleep on the couch. It was odd to find her sleeping without Ruby or Yang. He continued into the kitchen to find his youngest daughter jumping around their new puppy... it should be a completely normal scene… but it wasn't. Tai could feel it was… different.

"Ruby…" Tai pursed his lips. "Why does our dog have his aura unlocked?"

* * *

 **.**

 **Lenore Xiao-Long, Female Lenore, Age: 7 years, Level 10**

 **.**

"More tea?" Ruby sat at her low play table, pouring imaginary tea into a cup. Across from her sat a crow… dressed in a frilly pink hat, red feather boa, and large sunglasses. It only responded with a squawk.

"Qrow…" Tai entered the bedroom, taken aback by how the avian attire. "If you're drunk…"

"Dad!" Ruby she shouted as her father as he glared menacingly at the bird. "That's not Uncle Qrow! That's Lenore!"

Ruby tugged slightly on the bird's wing revealing 2 clawed fingers… Tai couldn't help but think his original thought about his adopted daughter being a Branwen had far too much evidence to be a coincidence.

"Wait…" Ruby scratched her head "Uncle Qrow's not a bird…"

"Alright… you girls have fun, I'm gonna get back to…" as he was about to leave, an idea struck him. He pulled out his scroll and snapped a picture of the flamboyantly dressed fowl. As he walked back downstairs, he sent the picture to a few mutual friends. "Pete and Barty should get a kick out of this."

* * *

 **.**

 **Lenore Xiao-Long, Female Lenore, Age: 7 years, Level 10**

 **.**

"Hey," Ruby said hanging over the back of Lenore's chair. "What'cha readin'?"

"Philosophy," Lenore responded, barely sparing her sister a glance.

"Must be tough to get you to make all those funny faces." Ruby giggled at Yang's comment.

"It is dissecting the futility of existence against the ever creeping darkness. How objects and emotions are fleeting and hold no value in the grand design of the universe. It all leads to a single question," Lenore spoke in a monotone voice, ignoring the dizziness evident in the young girl's eyes. "What is there in this world that truly makes living worthwhile."

The room went silent.

"Cats…" Yang said eventually "Cats are nice."

* * *

 **.**

 **Lenore Xiao-Long, Female Lenore, Age: 7 years, Level 10**

 **.**

"Happy Birthday Yang," Ruby shouted, jumping up and down on Yang's bed. Lenore stood nearby, unsure why Ruby was so...loud so early.

"Awe, thanks." Yang pulled the two into a hug. "I'm lucky to have two amazing younger sisters this year."

"Younger…?" Lenore tilted her head sideways in confusion. "Yang, you just finished your seventh year, correct?"

"Uh…" Yang has long since become used to Lenore's odd word choices, but it still took her some time to figure out what the other girl meant sometimes. "Yeah, that sounds right, I think. I'm seven years old today."

"I became 7 years old the day I met you and Ruby," Lenore responded, leaving her two sisters with their mouths hanging open. After several minutes of stunned silence, Lenore realized something was off. "What is the matter?"

"Nope!" Yang snapped back to normal.

"Yang, what do you…" Ruby looked at Yang in confusion.

"Nope!" Yang interrupted, popping her the last syllable for emphasis.

"You can't just…" Ruby hopped up and down, annoyed at being interrupted. "Gahh!"

"I said… NOPE! I refuse." Yang gave Ruby's forehead a flick, making her fall backward off the bed. "I'm still the big sister. I don't care how old you are, Lenore."

"That is accurate," Lenore said as she helped the youngest to her feet. "We should go downstairs, your… dad is waiting."

"Wait, why aren't you arguing?" Yang hopped off her bed. "You just said, you were older!"

"Yes…" Lenore stepped in front of Yang and looked up into her eyes. "...But you are bigger."

'Hahahaha!" Yang placed her hands on her knees to support herself. "You're so funny."

The two apparently younger girl laughed, hugging their confused sister. Regardless of the cause, she always enjoyed these hugs.

* * *

 **.**

 **Lenore Xiao-Long, Female Lenore, Age: 8 years, Level 10**

 **.**

"Check this out." Yang had produced a small grey box wrapped in wires from the basement.

"What is it…" Ruby ran her hand across the plastic case. "Some kind of… ancient relic."

"Kinda… it's a video game from when dad was a kid." Yang reached behind the television to hook the old console up. She produced a pile of dusty cartridges.

"I don't know… I'm pretty sure it's a weapon." Ruby said lifting one of the cartridges. "Why else would it have ammunition."

"Ruby…" Lenore looked at the object in her sister's hand. "Most ammo doesn't have a cartoon on it."

"Well, they should. When I make my weapon, it will." Ruby pouted. "So… wanna try it out?"

"Not particularly." Lenore returned to her scroll.

"Don't be like that." Yang popped the cartridge into the system. "Think of it as a learning experience."

Ruby giggled when Lenore began focusing on the tv. Yang always seems to know how to push their sister's buttons.

* * *

They had played for several hours. Yang's favorite had been a boxing game, while Ruby had mostly liked the Gimm hunter game that none of them could get past the first level of. Lenore, on the other hand, would pay attention for the first few attempts before tuning back out.

"Getting pretty late. We should make this the last one." Yang replaced the cartridge as Ruby yawned. They enjoyed the tune on the title screen for a moment before starting the game. "Standard slay the princess, save the dragon…"

The game had been dreadfully slow to the point that Ruby had actually fallen asleep. Yang would have called it quits an hour ago if it wasn't for the fact that Lenore had her eyes glued to the TV.

It started after the fourth or fifth boring fight… some kind of weird water drop thing… they had gained enough exp to level up. From that moment on, Lenore was hooked whether she'd admit it or not. Yang would do just about anything to make her sisters happy… but she was 110% done with this game. "I'm gonna bring Ruby upstairs and go to bed for the night."

"Okay." Yang noticed the slight fall in Lenore's mood.

"Ya know…" Yang lifted the sleeping girl onto her back. "If you want, you can play a little longer."

As Yang went up the stairs, she distinctly heard the sound of the game's boring fights.

* * *

Tai had a long hunt the night before. He didn't like staying out all night but he trusted the girls to be responsible… well… Yang and Lenore… most of the time. It was about 8:30 when he finally got back to his home.

"Huh… You're up early." When he entered he noticed Lenore sitting hunched on the couch, staring intently at the television. Lenore has always been an early riser, but it was rare to see her doing anything more than reading on her scroll without either Ruby or Yang. "Oh, I used to play this all the time. It's a classic. You having fun?"

Lenore grunted.

"Uh… Lenore are you listening?... I'm about to order pizza… Ruby's stuck in a well again." Lenore finally broke away from her game. "Wow, you're really into that game."

"No, I am on the couch." Lenore returned to her hunting. Tai chuckled when her face brightened at the sight of a little bubbling grey puddle…

"Hey, that's pretty far in…" Tai watched as the small puddle fled. "How long have you been playing…"

Lenore took a quick glance at a clock. "Fourteen minutes."

"It's morning…" Tai crossed his arms and stepped in front of the game.

"Oh…" Lenore looked up at Tai's face, attempting to figure out how he was feeling. "Twelve hours and Fourteen minutes…"

"Bed!" Tai spoke sternly, making his frustration as clear as possible. "Now!"

Tai looked back at his old favorite. It brought him back to a simpler time. He pulled out his scroll looking at an ad for the fifteenth game in the series. "Oh boy… how's she going to react to this."

* * *

 **.**

 **Lenore Xiao-Long, Female Lenore, Age: 8 years, Level 10**

 **.**

"I still don't understand…" Lenore spoke as she walked hand in hand with Tai, " That woman was… angry? But anger should have a cause…"

"It… it's not your fault Lenore… entirely…" Tai was rubbing his forehead with his free hand as they walked up their driveway. They had taken a trip into the city together. It had been uneventful… until Lenore had discovered a lost purse. Tai had mentioned that they should find the owner when Lenore disappeared into the air… "That woman was… surprised by you calling out her name… from the air..."

"Why?" Lenore's head tilted "it's her name. Would she not be accustomed to people calling it."

"Then… you chased her around town…" Tai groaned at the memory. "You can't… you should land when trying to talk to people… especially, people, you've never met…"

"Alright." Lenore tended to easily learn from her mistakes after being corrected, especially social ones… problem is she'd take the advice as law… which would lead to other problems… such as the week she remained silent in public because of the 'don't talk to strangers' rule.

"And while we're on the subject… you're 'semblance'... You shouldn't use it too often…" Tai struggled to get the words out… she used her identify ability almost on instinct. To tell her not to… would be like telling her to not be herself. "Or at least… don't let anyone you don't trust know what you find out from it… Like, don't go shouting people's names when you only know about it because of Identification."

"Hmm…" Lenore was silent, thinking on what Tai had said. "Alright… that is understandable. You had told me before to keep my unique abilities secret… yet I failed to do so…"

"It's okay, Lenore." Tai patted her head. "As long as you remember to say it's your semblance, that should be enough to satisfy most people."

"Alright, I will be careful… Tai." She had her eyes focused on the ground. Tai couldn't help but laugh at her embarrassed face. "Can I ask another question?"

"Sure." he smiled

"She had an odd title… Street Walker…?" Lenore missed the exasperated look on Tai's face. "Most people walk on sidewalks… or trails… but for that to be her title…"

"Oh-okay… Lenore… you said yourself, people's titles shift around…" Tai scrabbled to come up with an excuse. "You shouldn't make decisions based off of them… and who knows maybe some of these titles are… private…?"

"Alright, but titles provide me with status increases." Tai stared down at the girl, hoping he was wrong about what he believed was coming next… "I was going to attempt to gain the title…"

"NOPE! NO! NAH-UH! NO!" Tai shouted as they walked.

* * *

 **.**

 **Lenore Xiao-Long, Female Lenore, Age: 8 years, Level 10**

 **.**

"A…" Lenore stared at her sisters "Transformation call?"

"Yeah! Something you can shout right before you turn into a bird!" Ruby was jumping repeatedly into the air. "Like 'Moon Diamond Power' or 'Transform-a-gogo' or…"

"All the best heroes have one." Yang was leaning against a wall watching the fun. "Wouldn't it be awesome?"

"I don't understand the point…" Lenore said flatly as Ruby stopped bouncing. "Also… I am not a hero…"

Yang walked over and hugged her sisters. "You are to us."

Lenore went beet red as a strange heat welled up within her. It wasn't the painful heat that Tai had called 'angry'...it was kind of pleasant but difficult… She wasn't sure if she wanted the feeling to go away or continue.

"So, I was thinking something like…" Yang hopped up, landing with her legs spread apart and right hand on the ground while the left was pointed upwards. "INSTINCT AWAKEN!" she swung her arms in a circular motion, settling them at her chest. Her knees were bent keeping her crouched low, before popping up while spreading her arms out "Form, CROVIS!"

Lenore could only watch as Ruby clapped. The motions were unnecessary, and the word choices nonsensical… but for some reason, Ruby enjoyed it? Why?

"OOH! ME NEXT!" Ruby stretched one arm forward while bringing her other hand to meet it. "Change Soul, SET!" she crossed her palms over her head, "LET'S GO!" spread her arms to shoulder with, "ON!" and finally waved her arms down while jumping into the air, "WINGS! That's the part where you fly up and transform!"

"Nice one, sis." Yang patted Ruby on the back. "So, what do ya think?"

"They seem… long, complicated and nonsensical. If this is meant to be used when no one is around, it's pointless…" Ruby's face fell as Lenore spoke. "If not… it's distracting…"

"Well…" Ruby sat with her shoulders slumped and her arms and legs crossed. "...If you know so much, why don't you make one yourself."

Lenore stood scratching her chin... if she was going to do this… it would need to be short, simple, non-intrusive and be descriptive… she had it.

"Bird…" Lenore stood bringing her arm in a circular motion from her opposite hip, past her legs and towards her forehead, "GO!"

With a small flash, the girl was no more. In her place stood a raven with bright red eyes and two claws on each wing. It tilted its head sideways and look expectantly at the girls.

"Phhp…" Yang tried to suppress her laughter, unlike her sister who was rolling on the ground holding her gut. "Don't you think it's a little...simple?"

*CAW*

"But don't you think…" Ruby started

*CAW*

"Lenore, don't be like that…" Yang smirked

*CAW CAW*

"OKAY! Fine." Yang covered her face, trying to hide her laugh. "It's impossible to argue when you're like this."

* * *

 **.**

 **Lenore Xiao-Long, Female Lenore, Age: 8 years, Level 10**

 **.**

"Tai…" Lenore tugged gently on the back of his shirt.

She had been living in the Xiao-long household for nearly two years. It had been the warmest… the happiest time in her life. She didn't always agree with her two new sisters, but she cared for them all the same. Tai had shown her that 'having a roof over her head' was not the world-shattering tragedy she once believed it to be. She was family…

"What's up, Lenore?" He turned to her with a smile.

"A direction pointing to a higher location." Tai often asked odd questions, she had learned to ignore these and continued with her original thought. "I… wish to travel again…"

"Lenore…" his smile lowered as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "You know how dangerous it is… Can't you just keep exploring Patch?"

"I have spent the last year exploring every alleyway, forest, cave and crevice within a 3 hour flight of the house… I… I don't want to leave… Not forever…" Lenore felt a cold feeling as she spoke. She was cold when she thought of leaving, but also when she thought of never leaving… "I can't fully understand… but I need to travel… I want to know more."

"Lenore…" Tai sighed and turned away from his adopted daughter. "I worry enough with you soaring around Vale all day… I can't even imagine what it'd be like if you were wandering the world…"

"Tai…" Lenore didn't like this feeling, the thought of Tai worrying about her made her… not happy. "I traveled alone in the world for several years…"

"I know!" Tai shouted, causing Lenore to flinch back. "Sorry, I know… but that doesn't make it okay… I just want to keep you safe."

"I… understand." Lenore hung her head, she understood his argument… but didn't like it. Logically, it would be best to stay here and learn via scroll… but she missed the freedom. She made to return to her room when she felt a hand stop her.

"I was… going to wait for your next birthday." Tai turned and pulled small box, wrapped in purple paper and a silver ribbon. "Go ahead."

Lenore gently untied the ribbon and unfolded the paper, careful not to rip it. She opened the box to reveal a new scroll, slightly bulkier than the hand-me-down she had been using, with a silver case with several durable-looking clasps on the back. She ran the back of her finger across the screen, specially hardened so her claws wouldn't scratch it.

Even though she had tried her best to take care of her previous one, two years had not been kind to it. It had become difficult to read at times, it's battery life was a great deal shorter, not to mention the time Ruby had drawn a mustache on it… but it was gift, she valued it.

"So, what do ya think? We went all out, weatherproof, extended solar battery, long range signal receiver, voice activation, and a case so tough a goliath could step on it…" Tai's smiled down at the girl gently caressing her gift as if it was made of gold. He took the scroll and attached it to her suspenders. "But this gift comes with a new set of rules…"

Lenore didn't make a sound. She simply nodded.

"First, the rule about oceans still stands. Stay on the continent. Second, call at least every other day. Third, come home every week." Tai crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "If you can't accept that…"

"I accept!" Lenore practically jumped. With a quick flap of her wings, she had hopped out of the room and up the stairs… inevitably to tell her sisters.

Tai chuckled a bit. Despite not understanding them, she sure wears her emotions on her sleeve. "How long before this comes back to bite me in the ass…"

Lenore's head peeked back around the corner. Tai walked over and she jumped up into his arms. "Thanks… Dad."

Tai smiled to himself. He could see how red her face was, a pretty big difference from her normally pale skin. He gently pats her head. "Totally worth it."

* * *

"Daaad…" Ruby whined as her father tucked her into bed. He knew what was coming. Yang had taken Lenore's… trip much better than he expected, but whenever she had a free moment she was running her hand over her sister's necklace. Ruby, on the other hand, had asked the same thing every morning and night. "When's Lenore gonna…"

Ruby was cut off by a unique ringtone from her father's scroll. She squealed with glee as he took it out of his pocket and answered. "Hey Lenore, we were just talking about you."

"I'm sorry…" Tai pressed his face into his hand. "I'm going to need to break a rule… I just wanted to ask which one."

"What do you mean…" Tai groaned as he sat himself on Ruby's bed.

"I… have miscalculated…" He could hear her hesitation. "I would like to say that, so far… I have listened perfectly but… for me to make it home tomorrow, I would need to fly over the ocean… I could return by land, but it would take me another three days..."

"Lenore…" Tai was so exasperated, he didn't register his youngest daughter crawling into his lap and taking the scroll.

"LENORE! It's me, Ruby! Do you remember me?" She shouted into the scroll. "When will you be home, did you get me a souvenir, where are you?"

"Hello Ruby, I do indeed remember you." Ruby was shaking with excitement. "I'm in the process of finding out when I'll be home, yes, and…Vacuo…"

"Vacuo…" Tai groaned, of course, she'd be in Vacuo. Lenore was right… If she took the land route, she hadn't broken any rules… It's not like the continental boundary was drawn on the ground… "...Just… come home… whichever way is safest."

"Alright." Lenore responded "Safest would be straight back. I'll be home tomorrow evening. Goodnight Ruby… Goodnight… Dad."

Tai shook his head. She had somehow diffused all of his anger with a single word… "Did she do that on purpose?"

* * *

 **.**

 **Lenore Xiao-Long, Female Lenore, Age: 10 years, Level 10**

 **.**

"Get your butt down here!" Yang shouted and stomped her feet as she glared up at Lenore. She was perched up on the top of a nearby tree.

"No." Lenore said firmly "My butt, as well as the rest of me, will be staying up here."

"Phhp." Ruby giggled as she held Zwei in her lap. "Butt!"

"Ruby, this is serious!" Ruby recoiled from her sister's harsh words. "Now, Lenore!"

"I'm staying up here!" She didn't budge. "If come down, you're going to hit me again!"

"That's the point of TRAINING!" Yang began kicking the trunk of the tree in a vain attempt to knock her down. "I'm TRYING to teach you how NOT to get hit!"

"I already know how!" Lenore swooped over to the roof of the shed. "See!"

"Well, she's got ya there, sis." Ruby laughed so hard she fell to the ground on top of the small corgi.

"You can't just run from every fight!" Yang dashed to the shed just as Lenore left for a new location. "What happens if you get cornered or can't fly!?"

"I'd likely die, training or not." Lenore's blunt response caused Yang to drop her attempted assault. "It's a fact. My wings are too fragile to use in combat and my fingers can't properly grip a weapon…"

"That's why dad made these tonfa!" Yang motioned to the discarded metal rods lying on the ground. "So… GET! OVER! HERE!"

"I… kinda gotta side with Lenore on this one…" Ruby raised her hand to get her sister's attention. "Two fingers means she can't switch between melee and range easy, needing to block with her vulnerable wings, and worst… if she wants to fly she needs to drop them or use her secret semblance…"

"You little weapon geek…" Yang threw down her training gloves. "Fine, but someday you're gonna need to stand your ground! When that happens, don't come crying to me!"

"I'd say that went rather well," Lenore said landing next to Ruby. "I thought she'd be angry."

"You sure this is what you want?" Ruby turned to Lenore. "If you don't start training, you'll never make it in combat school."

"I don't plan on attending." Lenore missed the shock evident on her sister's face. "I'm not like you and Yang. I don't feel the need to fight for those I don't know and I barely have the strength to stand for those I do. I'm confident that both of you will be powerful huntresses… but I don't believe that I walk the same path."

"Hmm… but you saved us." Ruby hugged the older girl tight. "I think you're wrong, but I'll stick with you. That's what family is all about."

* * *

"Well…" Qrow sat at the kitchen table, watching the exchange. "That complicates things."

* * *

 **A.N/ Updated 11/26/17**

 **Here we go, the first set of fluff. These were all little cute ideas I had that i couldn't figure out how to naturally work into chapters. I mentioned the Grape one in my last note, but another story that wound up being cut was Lenore learning about Lien. I actually had been setting it up with Lenore's Magpie's nest but it turned out... dull so i cut it. figure the best way to talk about this would be to go** mini chapter **by** mini chapter **.**

 **Breakfast:**

 **This one actually got written a lot later than the rest of these. You guys may have realized she flew to Vacuo... But Tai certainly didn't. So,** i **kind of wanted to write a scene with him finding out EXACTLY how far she'll travel if he lets her. Also... I like imagining** grimm **being native to certain areas like animals... so** i **wanted to come up with a desert** grimm **and I had this great idea for a giant scorpian...then** i **remembered that we already have one of those... So camel...**

 **Trip**

 **I felt like I needed more family fluff and I also wanted to show that, even though Lenore doesn't understand her emotions... she still shows them. And air sickness...**

 **Tutor**

 **I'm not 100% satisfied with this one... maybe makes her too Mary Sue... but** i **feel like it will balance out later. This was also to justify her not needing to go to elementary school. As far as** i **have planned... which is the end of Volume 3... Marron will not be making another appearance...**

 **Zwei**

 **Okay...so... Ever since vol 2, me and my friends have speculated about Zwei. My favorite idea we came up with was, one day... Ruby or Yang just decided to awaken Zwei's aura without permission... Also giving that role to Lenore kinda felt right... here's the problem and here is a ridiculously over the top solution that ONLY makes logical sense and no other sense.**

 **Tea Party**

 **Dam... (EXTREMELY MINOR SPOILERS FOR VOL 5 EP 7) I didn't realize Qrow turning into a bird was a secret... but i liked this too much so i kept it... so :P**

 **Cats**

 **BMBLB CONFIRMED... joking. Honestly... this was put in mostly because I just started reading a new book series... also... BMBLB... Look, I know Black Sun is basically cannon... but I will go down with my ship. NUTS AND DOLTS FOREVER! DOWN WITH ROSE GARDEN! DOWN WITH LANCASTER!**

 **Birthday**

 **Okay... so everyone may have noticed that Yang was calling herself Big sis even though Lenore is older... HERE'S THE SIMPLE EXPLANATION! And yes, Yang is still** big **sister.**

 **NES**

 **So...this was originally a full 2000 word chapter that was 90%** lenore **plays Dragon Warrior (I live in the states so the original game was called that)... but it was probably too self-indulgent so** i **cut it down. Also... Yang enjoyed Punch Out... and Ruby... Ghouls and Ghosts (Ruby has some hardcore tastes). And don't sisters just know how to push buttons...**

 **And to A Friend/Kaiser Frunn... does this answer your question? (asked if i was a fan of Dragon Quest based on my name.)**

 **Roxanne**

 **So... I have no words... I wanted to establish that she keeps her abilities secret for the most part and... prostitute... enough of that. The name of the Prostitute was originally in the chapter but I got cut... it follows the color rule because... YOU DON"T HAVE PUT ON THE RED LIGHT!**

 **Henshin-A-Go-Go**

 **Okay... this one was actually supposed to be set up for a later joke about Lenore being terrible at naming things...that got cut... but ... this was too much fun for me to write... I had a few more but trimmed them out... Like 'Henshin-A-Go-GO, Baby' but i felt it went on too long. Yang's idea is from Zyuohger (if you read my previous AN you'd know i'm a huge super sentai fan) and Ruby's was from Go-Onger... While** lenore's **... was actually from Gatchaman Crowds... Yes, their transformation call was that lame.**

 **Travel**

 **This was actually the first mini-chapter I wrote. I kinda wanted Lenore to get all huffy without knowing why because she know's Tai's reasons are good... but still be annoyed. Also... calling him dad...** i've **established she gets embarrassed without knowing why... but she's trying.**

 **Training**

 **This... This was another one that i had PLANNED a full chapter for but I just... couldn't. So the Punchline survived. I really wanted to push... Lenore is NOT a fighter, she ISN'T the selfless hero, she doesn't WANT to be a huntress. I had a couple reviews and pm saying that she didn't feel like she belongs in Beacon, they were calm and constructive... and one essentially cursing me out for that. I actually disagree, I think that you can only learn so much alone, so a school would be perfect for her to collaborate and learn with others who know different things... but Lenore agrees with the reviewers... I have plans, plans that do 100% involve Beacon. So if that's a turn off for some of you, i figured i'd give you the heads up now. But beacon is where the characters are, it's where the plot happens. I am always impressed with the people who write a good story away from beacon but... i want to have lenore interact with Team JNPR and CFVY. Deal with Cardin's bullying and Weiss's... weissness... I want her to meet Kali's daughter and "other Faunus". Lastly, Lenore is the ONLY important OC so that means that either the other game pieces are unimportant (d you really think i'd bother setting it up if that was the case) or are existing characters. And where are 90% of characters?(Don't worry, it is 100% not Jaune)... Taking the OC to beacon is a trope i don't think i can break away from...and even if i could... i don't think i would. I'm sorry if any of you don't like it but i will stand my ground. also...is the plural of Tonfa... Tonfas or just Tonfa... I'm leaning towards Tonfa...**

 **I hope you enjoyed these snippets... Next weeks will be a bit shorter but... a bit less fluffy... if fact... one of the mini-chapters is ALMOST a full chapter but...** i **wanna get to** cannon **. Please remember to Follow, Favorite and Review. I love all the feedback** i **get even the negative shows that they cared enough to want to read.**


	9. A Quiet Life Part 2

**Lenore Xiao-Long, Female Lenore, Age: 10 years, Level 10**

"DAD!" Yang called up the stairs "WE'RE OUT OF ZIPPERS AGAIN!"

"How, it thought we just picked up a dozen at the start of the month." Tai came down to see his blonde daughter with her hair pulled back into a ponytail. She had out her sewing kit with several shirts and capes strewn around the living room.

"First, it was ten," Yang responded pulling a needle from the pincushion on her wrist and began sewing a small tear in one of Ruby's capes. She had taken over sewing duty from her father over the past year. Partly to take some of the work from her father… Mostly because he was terrible at it. Surprising, considering how often it needed to be done. Beyond all of the usual wear and tear on clothing of kids and a huntsman, they needed to alter every shirt they got for Lenore. "But we also got those a shirt and winter coat. Between that, the one that broke on floral print blouse and… the one Rubes tried to sew on to her cape to be a ghost…

"Ruby…" Tai sighed "And I suppose it can't be salvaged…"

"She managed to put the PLASTIC needle through the METAL bracket." Yang tossed him the destroyed zipper from the trash. True enough, several punctures could be seen metal teeth of the zipper. "She lucky I could save the cape."

"Alright, I'll add it to Lenore's list." Tai whipped out his scroll and typed. "She should be back tomorrow."

Chores had fallen rather naturally. Tai would prepare a light breakfast for the family before he'd leave for work in the morning. Yang would handle any yard work and tailoring, as well as doing any prep work needed for her Father to cook dinner when he'd get in.

Lenore would take care of shopping when she was on her way back from her wandering. Her flight and storage abilities made it a no-brainer, but what hadn't been anticipated was the sizable drop in food spending. It had taken some time for figure out why, but Lenore had taken up couponing. She would spend time during her travel to pick up discarded periodicals in search of useful ones and shop all across the kingdom. She said she didn't care, but Tai thought she secretly enjoyed the little puzzle she had created for herself.

Ruby was left with cleaning the interior of the house… however, she had somehow managed to avoid inheriting domestic skills from either of her parents. Tai had once come home to find the vacuum hanging upside down from the drapes with Ruby attempting to free her shoelaces from the ceiling fan with a ladle… he'd decided it was best not to ask how it had occurred. He just made sure Yang new to check on her every half hour or so...

"Anything else?" He was about to send the updated list.

"COOKIES!" Ruby shouted down from upstairs.

"Even if you say not too, Lenore always sneaks some extra for her," Yang smirks at her father. "Can't think of anything, but maybe she could pick up some food from Vacuo."

"She's not in Vacuo…" Tai paused "She better not be in Vacuo… AGAIN!"

* * *

 **Lenore Xiao-Long, Female Lenore, Age: 11 years, Level 10**

"Lenore!" Ruby shouted, jumping up and down on the roof. She was waving her arms wildly to get the older girl's attention as she landed. "Don't say anything! Use your semblance."

Lenore was surprised at the girls over the top enthusiasm… not that it was out of the ordinary… she was never truly prepared for it.

 **Ruby Rose, Female Human, Age: 8 years, Level 4**

"You…" Lenore felt something run down her cheek. "... changed your name…"

"Yeah…" Ruby scratched the back of her head. "I… kinda wanted to do something to honor her memory. Dad said you had met her, right?"

"I did…" Lenore sat down on the edge of the roof. "She… seemed kind."

"She was… I don't remember her that much, but she was" Ruby took her place next to her sister, wrapping herself in the warm wing. "Do… you think she'd like it."

"I'm not sure… I'm not very good at understanding people…" Ruby giggled at her sister's obvious admission. "But I do know you and I know that you are very kind as well."

"Thanks, Lenore." Ruby hopped off the roof landing perfectly despite the height… "I'm gonna grow up to be just like her."

Lenore sat in silence for some time after Ruby had returned inside. "Hopefully, as she was… not as she is."

* * *

 **Lenore Xiao-Long, Female Lenore, Age: 11 years, Level 10**

"Lenore, look at these!" Ruby ran up to the older girl with a bouquet of flowers in hand. The flowers were yellow at the center surrounded by black petals that became red near the tips. "It's us!"

Lenore took one of the flowers and gently rolled the stem in her finger.

"Wow, Ruby really…" Yang walked up with a familiar wide grin on her face. "ROSE...to the occasion! Huh… huh?"

Ruby groaned… but she knew it wasn't over…

"Oh, when she used rose…" Lenore explained, "She was referring to the flower, your name and the fact that you accomplished something."

"Gah…" Ruby pulled at her hair, Yang's puns were bad enough… but Lenore had, for some reason, picked up the habit of explaining EACH and EVERY one… "WHY! Why do you never run out of these!"

"If I said it was easy, I'd be…" Yang's grin grew wider "DANDE-LYING!"

"This is killing me." Ruby dropped to her knees.

"She used dandelion because the end sounds similar to 'lying'..." Lenore tilted her head "I don't believe that words will be fatal…"

"It's an EXPRESSION, LENORE!" Ruby rolled into the fetal position, shouting at the two "How do you decode her puns but not understand THAT!?"

"Oh, come on. LEAVE her be!" Yang was doubled over laughing "I'm just trying to CHLORA-FILL time, I could keep going for FLOWERS!"

"I want new sisters…" Ruby moaned...

* * *

 **Lenore Xiao-Long, Female Lenore, Age: 12 years, Level 10**

It was a rare occurrence that the entire family made trips into the city together. Between Tai's work a full-time teacher and part-time huntsman, Ruby and Yang's elementary school and training, and Lenore's travel… it was difficult to get free time together as a family.

"Shoot!" Tia scowled as he searched his pockets. "I think I left my wallet in the last store... Yang, could you run back…"

"It would make more sense for me to go." Lenore volunteered "I'll be the quickest."

"Well, if you're sure…" Tai hesitated slightly, Vale has had decent faunus relations but he always worried about Lenore walking alone… bet she was getting older. "Alright, we'll meet you back at the ferry. Come straight back, okay."

With a nod, Lenore took off towards the last shop. The rest began their walk towards the port when Yang turned back. "Hey, dad. I'm gonna go with Lenore, give her some company on the way back."

* * *

Lenore was walking her way back. Her Magpie's Nest was full from the day of shopping, so she had to carry the misplaced wallets. Unfortunately, she hadn't planned for this, meaning she needed to walk back.

 _Note… pockets from now on._

She had been walking for a few minutes when she felt something hit her aura. She turned her head tos see a group of three young people gathered behind her. Another strike… "That has to be the ugliest faunus I've ever seen. I mean they all are but seriously, look at…"

She shook her head. None of this was new, rather boring actually. The only useful information was the fact that their tiles said they were first years Signal Academy, the school Tai teaches at and Yang will be attending in the fall.

"Hey!" One shouted as she turned to leave. "That symbol! Isn't that Mr. Long's wallet!?"

"That filthy faunus is a pickpocket!" Another sneered as he cracked her knuckles "Let's teach her a lesson, maybe we can get some extra credit."

Lenore flipped the wallet into the air and caught it in her teeth. She was about to take off when a strong right cross breaks her aura, knocking her to the ground. "Holy crap, she's out of Aura already? Pathetic."

* * *

When Yang turned the corner, all she could see was red. In the alleyway across the street, two kids her age were standing on her sister's wings while a third was repeatedly kicking her in the ribs. In a single motion, she kicked off the sidewalk, shattering it in the process, and crashed into the first assailant!

In an instant, she had thrown four quick jabs sending the girl crashing into a dumpster. The one on her right reached for a sword, only to get an elbow to the face.

"Wait, you're… damn." The only one still standing turned and ran. Yang was about to follow when she heard her sister moan.

"Don't try to move, I'm here," Yang said, gently hugging her. She did her best to hide her tears from the older girl. "Big sis is going make sure everything is gonna be okay."

"Hey! What's going…" a dark-haired man rushed around the corner brandishing a metal club. Yang quickly moved herself between Lenore and the new arrival, who dropped the club and slowly approached. "Is there anything I can do?"

"My sister… she's hurt…" Yang fought to hide her distress from the half-conscious girl in her arms. "I… scroll…"

"Absolutely." the man held out his scroll. "Can you call someone, or do you want me to get an ambulance?"

"Our dad, he's waiting for us…" Yang rubbed the tears from her eyes. She was trying so hard to put on a brave face. "He's at the docks."

"My shop is right at the end of the block." The man motioned to a small shop not too far away. "If you want, you can wait for him inside."

Yang hesitated, she wouldn't normally trust a complete stranger… but this guy came armed to help her sister… most people had just walked past, but this guy… "Hey mister, you're okay with her being a faunus?"

"Of course," he smiled at the two girls. "I'm one too."

"Okay, thank you." Yang carefully lifted her sister onto her back only to notice a problem. "Geez, this is a lot harder without you folding up your wings…"

Lenore mumbled something incoherent as her sister carried her.

* * *

Tai rushed into through the door of the corner store, ignoring the closed sign on the door. The man within leads him to a back room where he saw his two daughters asleep on a small cot. He released a breath he didn't know he was holding and leaned up against the wall.

"Thanks… for helping them…" Tai sighed as he took a seat next to the store owner who passed him a cup of coffee. "I should've been there…"

"Hey, it may not be worth much coming from a complete stranger…" the shop owner sipped the coffee. "You can't be there every second, you just have to hope they can support each other when you can't."

The two sat in silence for a time before one would finally break it. "Name's Taiyang Xiao-long, you can call me Tai."

"Tukson," the two men shook hands. "So the kid back there is your adopted daughter?"

"Yeah, it's been almost five years." Tai smiled as he thought back to the girl who had become an irreplaceable part of their family. "She's lucky we found her… but we're just as lucky she found us."

"Your other daughter, she fell asleep before she could give me any names…" Tukson emptied his cup. "Would her name be Lenore?"

"Yeah…" Tai tensed slightly. "You… know her.

"Ha, who could forget a bird faunus who gets airsick." Tukson laughed as he poured a fresh cup for himself and his guest. "Not really. 'bout five years ago in Mistral, an associate of mine bought an orphan faunus to the airfield I was working and… persuaded me to bring her with me to Vale. She didn't really know Lenore either, had just met her earlier in the day… Did she ever wind up making it to Patch?"

"Yeah," Tai relaxed, he remembered that she had mentioned a few people had helped her get to Vale. "We actually live there."

"Well, I'm glad things worked out for her." Tukson smiled "Too bad I didn't find out sooner, Kali would have loved to see her, she and her husband went back to Menagerie a week or so ago."

"She's mentioned Kali, seems like a really good person. If you talk to her again, tell her thanks for me." Tai finished his coffee and lifted his daughters. "Thanks again, for the help and the coffee."

"Just glad she's got a good family behind her now." Tucson held the door, as Tai carried the sleeping children out. "Tell her if she ever needs anything, my door is open."

* * *

"Yang…" Lenore groaned. She was in pain and groggy, the last thing she remembered was Yang's eyes, not their usual calming lilac, but burning red.

"It's okay, Lenore. She's only sleeping." Tai looked down on his daughters. "Are you alright?"

"My vitality has dropped by one third and my Aura is depleted…" Lenore's gaze never left her sister. "I can feel a fractured rib and a sprain in my right shoulder…"

"Lenore… I'm so sorry…" Tai hugged her close as he boarded the small boat back to Patch. "I should have been there."

"I was… wrong…" Lenore had tears running down her face. "Yang warned me… but…"

"Shh, it's okay." Tai took a seat as the boat began to move. "Even the smartest people in the world make mistakes, but they learn from them."

"I did…" she pulled herself up to Tai's shoulder and hugged him. "I will try training again…"

"I'm glad to…" he was cut off when Lenore leaned over the side of the boat. With a terrible gurgle, she sent the remainder of her lunch to the sea. He smiled as he gently rubbed her back, focusing on the calm ocean.

* * *

 **Lenore Xiao-Long, Female Lenore, Age: 16 years, Level 10**

Lenore collapsed onto her bed, it had been converted from a guest room not long after she arrived. Despite her not having little desire for possessions, her room was rather full. She had a locker at the end of her bed for all of her spare clothing and shelves on the wall for numerous storybooks that Ruby had purchased in their youth. Her desk was neatly ordered with three large binders in the corner, each containing every drawing and card Ruby and Yang had given her over the years. She reached into a low drawer and pulled out some scraps of brightly colored paper and gently flipped and folded them, it was… comforting. The gifts the Xiao-long Rose family, her family, gave her… each one was her treasure, wrapping paper included.

It had been a long and difficult day. She truly loathed combat training… it shortened her time exploring, she'd see her sister's hurt… and it somehow exhausted her… She'd fly for days on end with no difficulty but her muscles would ache after minutes of sparring with Yang…

She had improved, her self-identification made that clear. In the past several years, she had increased her physical status a great deal. Her Fighting was now a 6, Strength, a 4, Endurance, a 7… her strongest by far was her Agility, at 19. It made her adept in dealing several quick blows… that would hardly dent an opponent's aura. Her inability to harm her opponents combined with her, as Qrow would put it, unbelievably weak aura… made victory all but impossible.

Even Ruby, who had only truly been training for a year, could defeat her with relative ease. Her Fatal Feathers had gotten her a few early victories, but now, she was lucky if she would land a single strike…

Further widening the gap was the fact that both of her sisters had managed to unlock their Semblances. Although they were never used during training, the knowledge that even her victory would be meaningless… made her question the point of continuing.

"Lenore…" Ruby knocked gently on the open door. "Can I come in?"

"Not now…" Lenore turned her head away. She knew if the young girl tried, she could get her way with a look. "I would just… like some time alone…"

"You're lying." Ruby's voice came through the door. "You can't stand being lonely… please…"

Lenore didn't answer, instead, she just lifted her wing. Without missing a beat, Ruby rushed from the door and dove beneath her favorite blanket and snuggled up against her sister. "Tough day?"

No answer…

"We know you don't like fighting..." Ruby whispered. "But you keep trying… You try so hard…"

Still nothing…

"You don't want to be a Huntress, you don't want to be a hero…" Ruby continued, pulling herself from her comfy cover. "You just want us to know your safe…"

Lenore sat up once she lost the warmth at her side. She saw Ruby carrying a long red box with a yellow ribbon. The younger girl carried it over to the bed and placed it down next to Lenore. "I hope you like it, I worked really hard on it…"

"Ruby…" Lenore felt tears running down her face. She hated this… tears… they would come out at the most inconvenient of times…

"Geez, sis... " Ruby couldn't help but laugh… she always got so emotional over gifts, no matter how small. "Ya, haven't even opened it yet."

Lenore tugged the bow, gently folding it and placing it to the side. Next, she took her claw and carefully cut the tape holding the paper together and slowly unwrapped the box. She took the paper and began to fold it when her sister groaned. "LENORE! OPEN THE BOX!"

Ruby's outburst caused Lenore to recoil back. She understood that what her sister wished to give her was WITHIN the box but she couldn't help it. She found a small amount of amusement in her sister's extreme reaction, causing her to slow down slightly. Ruby was shaking as Lenore lifted the lid.

A pair of knee-high boots, black at the top becoming silver steel as it reached the foot. Running up the opposite sides of each boot was an odd outcropping, hollow with several rounded recesses within. The front area that would cover the shin was reinforced, almost armored, with thin metal scales. The metal covering on the toe and heel had odd separations as if they were meant to move. What surprised her the most though was the weight, they were light… almost lighter than her normal boots. Stamped on the back, just above the ankle, was, a tiny rose… Ruby's symbol. She had obviously used a great deal of her free time making these.

Lenore reached out and pulled her sister into a hug. She struggled to get the correct words, but she had learned that hugs would portray the intended response. "Thank you."

"You haven't seen the best part!" Ruby was practically shouting. "Put um on!"

"How…" as Lenore pulled the shoes on, an odd thought crossed her mind… "These fit...very well…"

"You can be a really heavy sleeper." Ruby ignored her sister's confusion as she checked to make sure each buckle was properly fitted. Once she was satisfied she stat Lenore on the side of the bed. "Now… It should work by you doing what feels natural… Try… flicking out your toes."

Lenore was perplexed by the strange request but listened all the same. Near instantly, a trio of razor-sharp claws folded out from the front of the boot while a fourth jutted out from the back. Ruby was correct, moving each claw felt… right.

"How does it feel? Do receiver switches chafe? Are the buckles too tight…" Ruby questioned nearly every aspect of the weapon's design. "Do you like it?"

"Ruby… it feels… like…" Lenore couldn't describe it. It was similar to when she attempted to describe flight, something so natural it didn't require thought. "...they were always there…"

"I'm glad… those tonfa dad made…they're good weapons..." Ruby hesitated "But I don't think they would ever be right for you."

"I agree…" Lenore looked at her former weapons she had left on the side of her bed. Despite all the work her father had done… they never seemed… to fit properly in her claws. They would feel fine for a time but inevitably… they would feel wrong.

With another flick, the front talons moved together to form a single blade jutting directly forward. Another caused the claws to return but with a soft rubber coating on the interior.

"Wow, you weren't kidding. I thought I'd need to tell you how to change modes…" Ruby watched as her sister quickly cycled through the different forms. "The slot on the side is for dust grenades. I couldn't think of a way to work a gun in… so I figured a bombardment would be the next best thing."

"Ruby…" Lenore retracted her claws. "Thank you."

"I'm just glad you like her." Ruby hopped off the bed and made for the door.

"Her?" Lenore was confused "I was unaware that boots had sexes…"

"No... Lenore…" Ruby smacked her forehead. "It's… our weapons are more than tools… they're like our aura, extensions of ourselves. It wouldn't be right to just treat them like… things."

"I will do my best to treat… her… with the respect, you would…" Lenore responded as the boots disappeared.

 **Midnight Dreary stored in** **Magpie's Nest** **: 13/20**

* * *

 **Break AN: So... I'm not 100% happy with the next mini story... In fact it's the reason this chapter is a bit late. I've been flipfloping on deleting it for a solid hour today and it HAS been deleted several times during the week. I feel like i can't end these on a complete downer so.. if anyone has strong feelings like i should get rid of this one or not... let me know and i'll take it into consideration. I'll delete the AN next week either way.**

* * *

 **Lenore Xiao-Long, Female Lenore, Age: 17 years, Level 10**

"Yang…" Ruby walked into the living room where her two older sisters were sitting. Lenore was focused on the video game she 'didn't really care for' while yang polished her twin gauntlets, Ember Celica. She swayed nervously as she gained her sister's attention. "Could you… come with me to the city tomorrow..."

"If you need something from Vale." Lenore pulled herself away from her game momentarily. "I could go get it."

"NO! I mean...uh…" Ruby practically jumped. "I… you are in the middle of your game… I wouldn' want to interrupt…"

"Rubes…" Yang raised an eyebrow at the younger girl's odd demeanor. She placed her weapons on the table and gave her sister her undivided attention. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah…" Ruby didn't make eye contact, instead focusing on counting the floorboards. "I just need…"

"Uh… What was that?" Yang asked. Ruby responded inaudibly again. "I can't help you if I don't know what you need…"

"Bras…" Ruby turned bright red. "I...I need… Dad said he'd… but I…"

"Sure, no problem." Yang smiled, returning to her gauntlets. "I needed to pick some up anyway."

"This was awkward…" Ruby collapsed into a nearby chair. "Probably a lot more than it needed to be…"

"Oh, absolutely." Yang laughed at her sister's misery.

"Lenore…" Ruby waited for one of the telltale signs that her sister was listening. "Do you want to come too?"

"No thank you." She barely looked away from her screen. "My undergarments still fit fine."

"Awe, don't worry about it, Sis." Yang replied with a big grin. "I'm sure yours'll grow soon."

"Why would I want that?" Lenore wasn't even looking at the other girl's horrified expression. "They're just added weight… It would just make me top heavy."

There was a long silence with Ruby looking back and forth between her two sisters. Lenore was completely oblivious to Yang's eye color change. What she did notice, was the distinct click of Yang's gauntlets shifting into combat form. Within seconds, Lenore was off the ground and through the door… closely followed by a very angry Yang.

* * *

 **AN: These are the last of my mini stories about Lenore's childhood with the Xiao-long/Rose family. I REALLY enjoyed writing them and hope you all enjoyed reading them. I am not sure if my next chapter will be ready to post next week, I hope it will be but if it isn't ready... I will not post it. INSTEAD I will post the chapter of my Pyrrha fic I mentioned a few chapters ago. Unfortunately... I don't know how often that will update, I've only got two chapters of it written (and the second still needs a little bit of work)... but I really want to focus on this. But Either way I think I'll be skipping 12/24 and 12/30. Not that I won't be writing but I need to... family those days so... I'll use that time to build a buffer of chapters. I hope to be through the Initiation within two chapters. I don't plan on just retelling the rwby story once i get there though... The 1st volume covers their ENTIRE semester there is plenty of room for shenanigans at that time. Honestly, the only story I plan on retelling is the Vol 1 finally. I have a plan for Badge and the Burden and Jaundice, but they won't be in heavy focus... Also... I can't wait to write Ozpin again... he is so fun to write. now for thoughts on each mini.**

 **Chores**

 **So, I actually wanted to write this one earlier but I couldn't work it into an actual chapter. Originally, I had Tai being the one sewing but... I thought giving Yang that trait might be more fun... Also... last week we found out Ruby can't cook that well... I swear I had this written before that. Also, Immagine trying to cloth someone with arms twice as long as long as they are tall, everything would need to be custom made... It would be a nightmare. On top of that, she can't do it herself... I want to try and make it clear that Lenore does care and tries to contribute in any way she can (also likes to spoil Ruby a bit). The Vacuo thing... My friend bought up it being a running gag after reading the last update... so i felt i needed to be used at least once more.**

 **Name**

 **This. This is what I was talking about. This is actually a bit of what I imagine happening in cannon. The name difference is DELIBERATE. It needs to be. This may not be the reason but... if we never find out why... i'll be a little p. ...**

 **Pun-nished**

 **So... Yang's puns... they are Lenore's fault. I thought about having them fly over Lenore's head... but that didn't seem funny or intersting. THis on the other hand... Having someone go around behind yang explaining every one of her puns... poor Ruby.**

 **City Trip**

 **So... this was a long time coming. I had this one planned for a bit. Tukson's return, a bit of news about Kali, Yang's Semblance (even if she didn't know) and... Lenore getting mugged... I originally had written a discussion with the Signal Headmaster and Tai written in but It didn't feel like a good ending for the chapter... so I cut. Just assume that those three got severe detentions and will NEVER show their face in Tai's class again...**

 **Weapon**

 **Like i said... Tonfa were NEVER going to be her weapon. Actually, from day one I had planned to have her with talon weapons. When you're flying the best thing to do is use the limbs closest to the ground to attack so claws are perfect. On top of that... of course Ruby would be the one to make them. The keeping the wrapping paper is actually based off of a family member of mine would keep it saying that it was part of the gift... Never to this extreme but it felt like something someone who never really had a family may react to receiving gifts with true love behind them. Originally there was a gag written in where Lenore tries to name it... names include, Stab, Claws, Stabby, Stabby-Claw-shoe... she is NOT good at it. I just decided Ruby learned her lesson from the transformation story.**

 **Underwear**

 **...I already said...**


End file.
